Key figures

Thomas Jefferson: Jefferson came into presidency in 1801 and assumed the role fairly quickly by sending a ship into the Mediterranean Sea to attack the Barbary Coast. The reason being was because the Barbary states captured American merchants and their goods. He was entitled to do such an act upon there was no security by France nor Britain due to the Revolutionary War that ended in 1783.

James Madison: Madison was involved with the second Barbary War. He became president in 1808 but the war didn't start until 2 years before his term had ended. In 1815, the treaty of the first Barbary war terminated and one of the Barbary states, specifically Algiers, an north African state that also was governed by the Ottoman Empire attack the US. With that Madison decided to express his views towards Congress to declare war on this state. In the end, this was a success for the United States.