Malik Boyd received a $2,000 scholarship from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, through the Robert G. Ingersoll Student Activist Award, named for the 19th century’s most illustrious freethought advocate, set up by FFRF member John Pusey. FFRF thanks Mr. Pusey for his generosity, making possible Malik’s participation in the “We the People” competition in Washington, D.C.
Treaty of Tripoli proves we live in secular state
By Malik Boyd
I had the opportunity to represent Wisconsin on the national stage in the “We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution” civic education competition from April 13–16. My class from Wauwatosa East High School was one of two Wisconsin teams competing. Each team has six “units” that specialize in different curricular topics ranging from political philosophy to contemporary challenges to democracy. The competition simulates a congressional hearing. Three “hearing questions” are distributed months ahead of the competition. Every unit must read a four-minute prepared response to each question, followed by a thoughtful discussion with a panel of expert judges on matters relating to the topics.
I am a member of Unit One, which specializes in the philosophy of the Constitution and colonial American governance. During the state-level competition, one of our hearing questions was “How did the Protestant Reformation contribute to developing political thought and governance in colonial America?” Although not directly mentioned in our statement, one document I discovered to be fascinating and useful in supporting our claim was the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli. The treaty secured the safety of American commercial shipping in the Mediterranean, and established a more amicable relationship between the young nation and the Barbary states.
