President Thomas Jefferson is a well-known figure, who is not well understood. His military policies are under-examined in the historiography. Yet, he had a tremendous impact on martial development in the Early Republic. Jefferson reshaped the military to suite his pragmatic republican ideals. His militia system expanded while the regulars were disbanded. The Navy was greatly decreased, and the remainder of his military was used for frontier exploration, riverine trade, road development, and other public works. This disrupted the precedent of strong federal military development as set by his predecessors: George Washington and John Adams. His reforms also left the military in a state of decay from which it was unable to recover before the War of 1812.
Through a blend of financial and presidential policy analysis, this paper examines Jefferson’s effect on the evolution of the armed forces in the tumultuous days of the Early Republic.
History
","abstract_html":"<p>President Thomas Jefferson is a well-known figure, who is not well understood. His military policies are under-examined in the historiography. Yet, he had a tremendous impact on martial development in the Early Republic. Jefferson reshaped the military to suite his pragmatic republican ideals. His militia system expanded while the regulars were disbanded. The Navy was greatly decreased, and the remainder of his military was used for frontier exploration, riverine trade, road development, and other public works. This disrupted the precedent of strong federal military development as set by his predecessors: George Washington and John Adams. His reforms also left the military in a state of decay from which it was unable to recover before the War of 1812.</p> <p>Through a blend of financial and presidential policy analysis, this paper examines Jefferson’s effect on the evolution of the armed forces in the tumultuous days of the Early Republic.</p> <p>History</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Martin, David Alan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kyle Zelner","Susannah Ural","Heather Stur"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:41Z","subjects":["War of 1812","Thomas Jefferson","War","Military","Navy","Washington","Military History","Political History","United States History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/204","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kyle Zelner","Susannah Ural","Heather Stur"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Martin, David Alan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-07-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["War of 1812","Thomas Jefferson","War","Military","Navy","Washington","Military History","Political History","United States History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/204"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["President Thomas Jefferson is a well-known figure, who is not well understood. His military policies are under-examined in the historiography. Yet, he had a tremendous impact on martial development in the Early Republic. Jefferson reshaped the military to suite his pragmatic republican ideals. His militia system expanded while the regulars were disbanded. The Navy was greatly decreased, and the remainder of his military was used for frontier exploration, riverine trade, road development, and other public works. This disrupted the precedent of strong federal military development as set by his predecessors: George Washington and John Adams. His reforms also left the military in a state of decay from which it was unable to recover before the War of 1812.
Through a blend of financial and presidential policy analysis, this paper examines Jefferson’s effect on the evolution of the armed forces in the tumultuous days of the Early Republic.
History
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mr. Jefferson's Army in Mr. Madison's War: Atrophy, Policy, and Legacy in the War of 1812"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kyle Zelner","Susannah Ural","Heather Stur"],"dc:creator":["Martin, David Alan"],"dc:date.available":["2016-07-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["President Thomas Jefferson is a well-known figure, who is not well understood. His military policies are under-examined in the historiography. Yet, he had a tremendous impact on martial development in the Early Republic. Jefferson reshaped the military to suite his pragmatic republican ideals. His militia system expanded while the regulars were disbanded. The Navy was greatly decreased, and the remainder of his military was used for frontier exploration, riverine trade, road development, and other public works. This disrupted the precedent of strong federal military development as set by his predecessors: George Washington and John Adams. His reforms also left the military in a state of decay from which it was unable to recover before the War of 1812.
Through a blend of financial and presidential policy analysis, this paper examines Jefferson’s effect on the evolution of the armed forces in the tumultuous days of the Early Republic.
History
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/204"],"dc:subject":["War of 1812","Thomas Jefferson","War","Military","Navy","Washington","Military History","Political History","United States History"],"dc:title":["Mr. Jefferson's Army in Mr. Madison's War: Atrophy, Policy, and Legacy in the War of 1812"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:41Z"}