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Ben Railton

Getting ready to watch Morocco in the World Cup knockout round? Here are a couple of fascinating Revolutionary-era American & Moroccan histories first, connections that make them the perfect team to be playing during the U.S.’s 250th anniversary week. Quick thread 🗃️ +

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1 прямых ответов · 15 сообщений

Ben Railton

In this @satevepost.bsky.social Considering History column, I highlighted the foundational & hugely important role that Morocco played in supporting the new United States at the outset of the American Revolution: www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/10/cons...

Considering History: Does America Owe Its Existence to France and Morocco? | The Saturday Evening PostAmerica would not have endured without its foreign alliances, including a foundational one with a Muslim country.www.saturdayeveningpost.com
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Ben Railton

Indeed, Morocco offered the first recognition of an independent United States by any nation in the world, when its progressive Sultan Sidi Muhammad Ibn Adballah wrote to European leaders in December 1777 formally opening Morocco's ports to American ships.

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Ben Railton

That foundational relationship continued after the Revolution, w/the Treaty of Peace & Friendship between the nations that was drafted in 1786 & ratified by the U.S. Confederation Congress in July 1787. When George Washington became President, he furthered that relationship, writing to the Sultan +

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Ben Railton

“Thanks of the United States, for the important Mark of your Friendship for them…It gives me Pleasure to have this Opportunity of assuring your Majesty that, while I remain at the Head of this Nation, I shall not cease to promote every Measure that may conduce to the Friendship & Harmony.”

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Ben Railton

& that relationship wasn’t just between the nations’ leaders or governments. It also made it much more possible for Moroccans to immigrate to the US, & they did so, creating striking & inspiring communities like the “Moorish” (Moroccan) American community in 1780s Charleston, South Carolina.

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Ben Railton

As I highlighted in this @cnn.com column inspired by my book We the People, that Revolutionary-era South Carolina Moroccan American community wasn’t just groundbreaking in its presence. It also likely influenced the most radical part of the U.S. Constitution + www.cnn.com/2019/07/20/o...

The 500-year battle over ‘who is American’ continues | CNNDonald Trump’s attack on four freshman Democratic congresswomen fits into a long tradition of people in power trying to define who is a real American—and an equally long tradition of resistance from t...www.cnn.com
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Ben Railton

+ Article VI's “no religious test” clause. That clause was drafted by Charles Pinckney, Charleston native & cousin of the judge who would rule in favor of the Moroccan American community’s citizenship rights in the 1790 Moors Sundry Act. This was a prominent & influential Muslim American community.

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Ben Railton

So from our earliest Revolutionary moments to our founding era, leaders, & documents, as well as our evolving ideals & identity alike, Morocco & Moroccan Americans have played key roles. Pretty cool to get to root for them here in our 250th anniversary week!

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Lurkeylootoo #twinja

I thought of the story of the Sultan intervening on behalf of an enslaved man: mississippitoday.org/2025/10/27/n...

Natchez honors ‘Prince Among Slaves’ - Mississippi TodayNatchez has unveiled a historical marker honoring an African prince sold into slavery and freed 40 years later.mississippitoday.org
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Paula Krebs

I miss CNN Opinion as a place to publish on humanities issues.

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A
antonomase

Yes, but on the shores of Tripoli: Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah authorized his own corsairs to seize American ships (like the Betsey) as early as 1784. This threat of piracy and U.S. refusal to continue paying tributes prompted Jefferson to send naval forces and spark the First Barbary States War

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Ben Railton

Ain’t nothing simple or clean in our history, to be sure. But just as our quasi-wars with France don’t lessen the importance of their revolutionary allyship, I’d say the same with Morocco.

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David Burbach 🇺🇸

And boy did every taxi driver in Casablanca remind me of that 😂