Provide for the Common Defense : America, Its Army, and the Birth of a Nation

by Palmer, Dave R.

• ISBN13: 9780891417590
• ISBN10: 0891417591
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: Presidio Pr

Summary

The military clauses were perhaps the most contentious in the drafting of the constitution. The old Continental Congress had had an abysmal record in taking care of the army. Promises made to soldiers during the war remained unfulfilled. At the same time, American distrust of European-style professional armies ran deep.

This masterful account of the creation of the Constitution shows our founding fathers at work and brings them to life.

Author Biography

Dave R. Palmer, retired army lieutenant general and former superintendent of West Point, lives north of Austin in Belton, Texas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface	xi
PART 1: SENTIMENTS ON A PEACE ESTABLISHMENT	1	(42)
Guide the Torrent	3	(13)
A Dangerous Instrument	16	(5)
Vision	21	(9)
Disintegration	30	(13)
PART 2: THE HUMILIATION OF WEAKNESS	43	(42)
Confederation and Perpetual Union	45	(8)
The Bastard Child	53	(11)
A Rope of Sand	64	(11)
Captain Daniel Shays	75	(10)
PART 3: THE COMMON DEFENCE	85	(58)
The British Legacy	87	(7)
The Ghost of Cromwell	94	(10)
A Jealous Eye	104	(5)
The Commander in Chief	109	(11)
To Make War	120	(14)
The Right to Bear Arms	134	(9)
PART 4: PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND	143	(86)
Between Anarchy and Monarchy	145	(19)
Toward War	164	(5)
The Indian Way of War	169	(14)
Little Turtle Triumphant	183	(19)
Washington Finds a General	202	(8)
The Embrace of Adversity	210	(19)
PART 5: ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC	229	(54)
Fort Recovery	231	(3)
Paranoia in Philadelphia	234	(7)
The Peace Establishment	241	(8)
Fallen Timbers	249	(14)
The Army of the Constitution	263	(15)
1795 and Beyond	278	(5)
Afterword	283	(6)
Suggested Reading	289