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I am pretty certain that the large military powers at the time (England, France certainly Prussia) had standing armies already. So I would be highly surprised t
by cycomanic 4y ago
I am pretty certain that the large military powers at the time (England, France certainly Prussia) had standing armies already. So I would be highly surprised that the founders did not anticipate armies as a permanent institution. That would be a pretty big blind spot, considering they already existed.
- shadowgovt 4y agoIn some ways, the Founders were delightfully naive. Kings also already existed, and they'd just thrown off control of one. Many Founders believed a standing army to be an inherently corrupting force (if you have a warrior class, sooner or later they will make you go to war) and thought America would be better without one. Whether or not that could have been true in the abstract became irrelevant because the need to perpetually defend territory meant that there was never an opportunity to disband the Continental Army.
- lupire 4y agoThey Constitution (and the framers) opposed the President having a standing army. It supported the country having one with biannual renewal of consent from Legislature for funding. And the War of 1812 taught President Madison the danger of being under militarized and over-reliant on militias.