Department of War, 1781-1795 / Harry M. Ward.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ward, Harry M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History, Military.

United States.

United States. War Department.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (287 pages)

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press, 1962.

Summary:

Harry M. Ward examines the formative years of the Department of War as a microcosm of the development of a centralized federal government. The Department of War was unique among early government agencies, as the only office that continued under the same administrator from the time of the Confederation to government under the Constitution. After the peace was established with Britain, citizens were suspicious of keeping a standing army, but administrator Benjamin Lincoln's efficient administration did much to dispel their fears. Henry Knox was the second Secretary, and he faced the problem of maintaining peace on the frontier, as his tiny army twice lost battles with Indians. It was only after the Whiskey Rebellion and Shay's Rebellion, that the young nation fully comprehended the importance of a maintaining a national military.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

I. Coming of Age

II. Creation of te War Departments

III. The Office and the Powers

IV. The Administration of Benjamin Lincoln

V. A Transition into the Unknown

VI. Bookseller in High Station

VII. The Peacetime Military Establishment

VIII. Council Fires Begin to Burn

IX. The Final Test: Shays's Rebellion

X. Rock among the Sands

XI. "A Hoop to the Barrel

XII. Finding Roots in the Federal Government

XIII. Council of the Executive

XIV. The Western Debacle

XV. Reappointment with Destiny XVI. Wooing the Southern Tribes

XVII. War Powers Asserted

XVIII. An Evaluation

Notes

Appendices

Bibliograph

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780822975465

0822975467