Friday 24 September 2010

Federalism and the Military

What does a mechanism of social reproduction look like? Here's an example:
Federalist adoption of the Continental Army viewpoint on defense matters was not at all coincidental. Seeded throughout the Continental Army officer corps... were many of the future leaders of the Federalist party... Young at the beginning of the war, for many of these men service in the Continental Army provided the first real taste of public life. Significantly enough, the experience was at the national level, fighting for the whole country, serving in the first large organization which threw citizens from different states together... At a formative stage in their lives they were exposed to military values; they learned the strength of executive leadership in contrast to the weakness of Congress under the Articles of Confederation. Some came of age in the Continental Army; others formed friendships and made contacts that meant much in later years; still others formed judgements about politics that would last a lifetime. [p.10]

Richard Kohn, Eagle and Sword: the Federalists and the creation of the military establishment in America, 1783-1802 (New York, 1975)

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