jul 9, 1798 - Signs an “Act (2 Stat 578) further to protect the Commerce of the United States,” authorizing US vessels “to subdue, seize and take any armed French vessel, which shall be found within the jurisdictional limits of the United States, or elsewhere, on the high seas. . .” This begins the two-year undeclared naval war called the Quasi-War
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Date:
jul 9, 1798
Now
~ 227 years ago