American piracy, particularly in the early 19th century, involved various actors, from rogue privateers to outright criminals. American piracy was mainly focused on the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Famous American pirates such as Jean Lafitte and Charles Gibbs were often written about in American newspapers of the time.

By the 1820s, the U.S. Navy and other naval powers had increased their presence in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to suppress piracy. This was partly in response to pirate attacks on American and international shipping. The U.S. Congress passed several laws aimed at curbing piracy. For example, the Piracy Act of 1819 authorized the U.S. Navy to capture and try pirates in special courts. As the century progressed, piracy declined significantly due to the increased naval patrols using Revenue cutters such as the USRC Alabama and USRC Louisiana. The changing economic conditions and the development of more stable governments in the Caribbean and Latin America also led to the demise of piracy in North America. In 1860 the last person convicted and executed for piracy on American soil was Albert Hicks, also known as Pirate Hicks.