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the Barbary Coast, the coastal area of North Africa bordering the Mediterranean. The pirates hijacked the ships, sold off the cargo, and even put the crews into slavery. It was clear that the ships needed protection, so the government debated the formation of a federal navy. In 1789, the U.S. Constitution was adopted, which gave the government official permission to create a navy for the protection of U.S. shipping and the U.S. coastline. Several years later, on April 30, 1798, Congress established the Department of the Navy. The early Navy was equipped with fast, heavily armed frigates , such as the 40-gun USS Constitution , which could travel at top speed of 13 knots (15 mph or 24 km/h) and the 36-gun Congress. Their first missions were escort duties for U.S. merchant ships, guarding them against attacks from the French or various pirate groups. They were soon called upon for more aggressive actions. In 1812, the Navy found itself again battling the Royal Navy after the outbreak of the War of 1812 (1812–1814). The war was a mix of dramatic victories and equally dramatic defeats for the U.S. Navy. Victories included the destruction of the British warships Guerriere , Macedonian , and Java , and battles were won on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain in Canada. Defeats included the loss of the Chesapeake to the Royal Navy frigate Shannon , and battles were lost on Lake Ontario, which was a major center for British supply shipping. Although the war was brought to an end by a peace treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, the war had proved that the United States needed a more powerful navy to keep foreign powers from dominating U.S. shipping lanes. For the rest of the 19th century, the Navy embarked on a period of major growth and increasing confidence. New technology came on board midcentury, including steam power instead of sail power, breech-loading guns, and armor plating, all of which gave the Navy greater power, both to cover distance and to fight. During the Civil War (1861–1865), the Navy gave the Union forces supremacy at sea over the Confederates. Its ships were able to blockade many southern ports and prevent Confederate

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