Reflective Essay Assignment
Drawing on Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army, (First two chapter) plus what you learned in our class lectures and discussions and any of your optional reading, describe the basic military defense system that America's founders established during the Revolution and the decade that followed. How did the founders attempt to provide for the national defense without infringing on the people's liberties? What, in your opinion, were the chief merits of this system, and what were its defects? In other words, was this defense system a realistic response to the young republic's security needs or was it more an exercise in rhetoric and wishful thinking?
Your essay should be at least seven pages long - typed, double-spaced, and in 10- or 12-point font.