This book is the engrossing and little-known story of a powerful circle of men- the wing of the Federalist party led by Alexander Hamilton- who won a bitter fight for a national army, but divided the country and destroyed their own party in the process. Here is history that raises questions about the power and influence of militarism in American politics: Did Alexander Hamilton intentionally provoke the Whiskey Rebellion to prove the need for a federal army? Were the Federalists prepared to use military force to prevent Thomas Jefferson from becoming President in 1800? Were these men militarists? Were they after a national army in order to maintain their own power? Unfolding the critical events of America's first two decades of Independence- the incredible Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783, the first Constitutional debates over "national security," Shay's Rebellion, the Indian War campaigns of "Mad Anthony" Wayne, the Quasi-War with the French- this timely book chronicles the origins of American militarism and the serious threat it posed to the democratic ideals of the young American nation
 
 
 
  
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
  
443 pages 
  
Good condition