When war broke out in 1812, the US navy could count on seven warships to defend its ports. The navy suffered even more as the new administration halted the building of new ships-of-the-line, replacing them with less reliable and cheaper gunboats. Opposed to massive government spending and determined to end what he believed to be unnecessary taxes, Jefferson decreased the size of the regular army from 5,400 men to 3,300 men, eliminating many veteran officers in the process. This idealism and lack of first-hand military experience contributed to Jefferson’s determination as president to severely cut defense spending. Jefferson was an idealist whose Enlightenment inspired writings produced some of the greatest documents associated with independence and government by the consent of the governed. Safely ensconced in his Virginia plantation, his closest brush with the enemy came late in the war when Colonel Tarleton, under the command of Lord Cornwallis, came within ten minutes of capturing him. Unlike George Washington and several of the early founders of the young nation, Thomas Jefferson had no history of leading troops into battle during the Revolution. Jefferson’s Republicans Control the National Government The lack of war preparedness was a direct cause of poor performance and lackluster leadership. When the war came, it dragged on for several years, ending in late 1814 after bleeding the national treasury. Earlier Federalist defense measures had been scraped as the Jefferson and Madison administrations came to rely on militias and privateers in the event of war. Years of frugal monetary policies, begun by Thomas Jefferson, had left the army and more particularly the navy in a weakened position. When the War of 1812 began, the United States was ill prepared for what would be a prolonged conflict with Great Britain. The Federalist “Roman Doctrine” featuring increased defense spending improving the army & navy were eliminated by Jefferson, leading to poor military preparation in 1812.
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