The Need to Preserve Peace Through Strength

“To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.”

George Washington

That quote, by George Washington, accurately reflects his view on a standing federal military.  During Washington’s two terms as President, he put efforts into creating a federal military and navy.  The succeeding President, John Adams, increased the efforts and built up military strength significantly. 

They believed that a strong military and navy “could not only deter possible war but put the nation in a prepared position in case an unavoidable war was to break out.” (“Early American Stances”) During his Presidency, John Adams increased the federal peacetime army from just 840 men to 5,400, although he increased the limit to as high as 10,000 men.  (“Early American Stances”)

However, in just one change of power, all that work was undone.  When Thomas Jefferson ascended to the Presidency, he brought with him some very different views on government than his predecessors.  Thomas Jefferson was strongly against a standing federal military. 

Or as he put it,

“Standing armies [are] inconsistent with [a people’s] freedom and subversive of their quiet.” 

With this view in mind, Thomas Jefferson enacted policies that he believed would benefit the country.  However, just the opposite occurred.  Thomas Jefferson ultimately crippled the United States prior to the War of 1812, by cutting the navy and army budgets in half, reducing the federal army, and virtually eliminating the navy.

Military Budget Cuts

The first way that Thomas Jefferson harmed the United States was through his enormous military budget cuts.  One of Thomas Jefferson’s priorities during his presidency was the elimination of the federal debt.  (Gaffney, Dennis)

He understood that owing money to others held you under obligation to others, or as Proverbs 22:7 says, “…the borrower is the slave of the lender.” And so, eliminating the federal debt, and having a reduced and balanced spending was a noble goal. 

However, as mentioned previously, Jefferson also possessed a strong distrust of the military.  In his own words,

“…sound principles will not justify our taxing the industry of our fellow citizens to accumulate treasure for wars to happen we know not when, and which might not, perhaps, happen but from the temptations offered by that treasure.” 

In other words, Jefferson believed that taxing to fund a federal military was not justified. 

To go even further, he believed that possessing “treasure for wars,” as he put it, would likely cause war.  Unfortunately, these beliefs led him to cut the navy and army budgets by half.  (Gaffney, Dennis)

Such a radical cut in military funds would be unimaginable today.  

How Jefferson’s Military Cuts Harmed the U.S.

It is not hard to see how this hurt the United States.  The United States had been bullied by England on the high seas for several years, with England confiscating cargo and kidnapping American sailors to force them to fight in England’s wars. 

The moment the threat of England became apparent on the seas, Jefferson’s policy failures became clear.  He had cut funds by half.  That would logically imply that there was less of everything, likely including resources and the quality of those resources. 

The US lacked the resources to make England stop.  Because of that, Jefferson avoided war his entire presidency, resorting instead to other useless tactics that quickly proved ineffective.  (Schweikart and Allen, 180)

It wouldn’t be until James Madison succeeded Jefferson that the US would declare war and no longer tolerate England’s crimes against America. 

Shrinking the Federal Army

Thomas Jefferson also harmed the United States by shrinking the already small federal army.  John Adams, during his presidency, had built up the army to 5,400 men, which had grown to 6,500 soldiers before the budget cuts. 

However, Thomas Jefferson brought that number down to 3,350.  (Schweikart and Allen, 171) As mentioned earlier, he was opposed to a standing army.  As he said,

“Nor is it conceived needful or safe that a standing army be kept up in time of peace.” 

He believed that a standing army was not only unnecessary, but likely to incite war.  Jefferson instead desired to rely on state militias to defend the country, but this had issues, among them the fact that there would not be a unified, national force.

How Reduction of Federal Forces Hurt the U.S.

Jefferson’s reduction of federal troops clearly harmed the US.  As history professors Schweikart and Allen wrote, Jefferson “was in no position at all to fight on land…”  (180)

This quickly became apparent with the start of the war of 1812.  Having to deal with Jefferson’s reduced army, the US used a combined force of federal and state militia troops to attack British positions in Canada.  All 3 campaigns failed miserably.  (Schweikart and Allen, 184)

The 7,000 militia men defending Washington D.C. also fled, resulting in its destruction.  (Schweikart and Allen, 185)

The Revocation of Jefferson’s Military Policies

The lack of a unified federal force severely hurt the US war campaign at the start of the war.  As James Madison revoked Jefferson’s policies though, changes quickly became evident. 

In one instance, a 10,000 troop British force was defeated by an American army 1 tenth its size.  As Schweikart and Allen wrote,

“There America regulars (referring to federal soldiers) relieved the militia–with stunning results… The British commander, shocked that he had not come up against militia, blurted, ‘Those are Regulars, by God.’”  (186)

By the end of the war, Madison had increased the army to from 3,500 men to 35,000 men.  (“Early American Stances”) Imagine what could have been different if they had started with that number! They would have been prepared for war, not decimated before it began.

Shrinking the Navy

Finally, Thomas Jefferson ultimately hurt the United States by virtually eliminating the navy.  Thomas Jefferson’s opposition to the military extended further than just ground forces.  In his view,

“Collisions… between the vessels of war of different nations… beget wars and constitute the weightiest objection to navies.” 

He also complained about the cost of the navy.  Among his many anti-military acts, Jefferson eliminated deep-sea vessels.  (Schweikart and Allen, 171) He cut the navy from 13 active frigates to only 6.  (Wagner, Dennis) He also canceled construction of new ships.  (Gaffney, Dennis)

While he allowed a coastal gunboat fleet, they were one-gun ships and good for nothing except fighting ill-equipped pirates.  (Schweikart and Allen, 180) Even the ships that the Americans did possess were referred to by the British as,

“a few fir-built frigates, manned by a handful of bastards and outlaws.”  (Schweikart and Allen, 184)

The Harms of Shrinking the Navy

This likely had the most obvious ramifications for the United States.  Without a navy, the US was unable to protect American sailors.  (Wagner, Dennis)

The British had free reign capturing American trading ships and enslaving American sailors.  In essence, it is Jefferson’s elimination of the navy that likely helped incite the War of 1812. 

If the U.S. had a strong navy, then enemy countries would have been less inclined to commit offenses against America. 

When Madison became president and he finally declared war, the US had to primarily rely on land combat.  As Schweikart and Allen wrote,

“Much of the war at sea did not go as well.  Jefferson’s gunboats, thoroughly outclassed by British frigates, retreated to guard duty of ports.  This constituted a demoralizing admission that Jefferson’s policies had failed, and was confirmed by a congressional vote in 1813 to fund 6 new frigates, essentially doubling the U.S. fleet in a single stroke!”  (185)

Thomas Jefferson’s near elimination of the navy held devastating consequences for the United States, as demonstrated in the War of 1812.

Disagreement

Despite those reasons, some might say that Thomas Jefferson’s military policies were not harmful to the US.  They may say that he helped the US by paying off a lot of the federal debt and that he still left the US well defended with state militias. 

However, after the War of 1812, all the debt Jefferson paid off was replaced with a vastly larger debt because of the need to create an army and navy so suddenly.  (Ritchie, Alanna) 

As for the quality of the militia, George Washington summed it up well:

“They come in you cannot tell how; go out you cannot see when; act you cannot tell where… and leave you at last in a critical moment.” (qtd. in Schweikart and Allen, 150)

It is a plain fact that Thomas Jefferson left the US in a weakened state and unable to adequately protect itself against the British.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that Thomas Jefferson, while a brilliant man, enacted several military policies that obliterated the little military strength the young United States possessed. 

His extensive budget slashing and vast cuts in federal troops and navy ships only served to cripple the United States and make them vulnerable.  While James Madison set out to undo his predecessor’s military polices, the huge setback resulted in a costly war that ended in a stalemate.  (Schweikart and Allen, 187)

Who knows, the War of 1812 may have even been prevented if Jefferson had the foresight to preserve peace by being prepared in case war did erupt.  

Even today though, there are many people who call for the US armed forces to be reduced and cut, discrediting the need for protection and strength.  But in a world full of powerful enemies of freedom, we would do well to remember the wisdom of George Washington, who recognized that, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.”

Works Cited:

Allanna, Ritchie. “History of Debt in the United States.” Debt.org, 9 Dec. 2015, www.debt.org/blog/united-states-federal-debt-timeline/.

“Early American Stances on the Size and Role of the Military and Its Effects On the War of 1812.” American Battlefield Trust, 28 Sept. 2020, www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/early-american-stances-size-and-role-military-and-its-effects-war-1812.

Gaffney, Dennis. “Thomas Jefferson’s Radical Plan to Avert the Fiscal Cliff.” History News Network, 2013, historynewsnetwork.org/article/149745.

“The Papers of George Washington.” The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition, rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/GEWN.html.

Schweikart, Larry, and Michael Allen. A Patriot’s History of the United States: from Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement. Sentinel, 2019.

Wagner, Dennis. “1801 Thomas Jefferson – Military Cuts or Peace Through Strength.” State of the Union History, 9 Mar. 2016, www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2016/03/1801-thomas-jefferson-military-cuts-or.html.