Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

"VindicatorOnlyofHerOwn" r87

changedsomewhatovertheyears,thecoreideasremainsimilar.During
theeighteenthandnineteenthcenturies,Jeffersonianshatedandfeared
thenationaldebtwitha passionthattodayisdifficultforeventhemost
dedicated"debthawks"toappreciate.Inadditiontoallthearguments
thatarestillbroughtforwardbythosewhowishtocutthefederaldeficit
(theburdenforfuturegenerations,the"crowdingout"byfederalspend-
ingofprivateinvestment,thedangerofinflation),theearlyJeffersonians
broughtforwarda politicalargumentaswell.Thenationaldebtwasa
dangertodemocracybecauseitdividedthecitizensintotwoclasses-
taxpayersandinterestcollectors.InAmericancircumstancesthatgener-
allymeantthattheproductsandincomeoffarmersweretaxedtoprovide
a streamofincomeformerchants,capitalists,andotherswithreadycash
toinvest.ThehallmarkofJefferson'sadministrationthrough 1807 had
beenhissuccessinpayingdownthedebt.Whenheassumedoffice,the
debtstoodat$83million;by 1807 itwas$69million;7haditnotbeen
fortheLouisianaPurchase,itwouldhavestoodat$54million.
In18°9,asyetanotherwarcrisiswithBritainloomedonthehorizon,
JeffersonadvisedhisfriendJamesMonroe,thenewsecretaryofstate,to
doeverythingpossibletoavoidwar:"Ifwegotowarnow,I fearwemay
renounceforeverthehopeofseeinganendofournationaldebt.Ifwecan
keepatpeaceeightyearslonger,ourincome,liberatedfromdebt,willbe
adequatetoanywar,withoutnewtaxesorloans,andourpositionand
increasingstrengthpurushorsd'insultefromanynation."8
Theprospectofdebtsresultingfromwarshorrifiedgenerationsof
orators.AftertheCivilWar,PresidentAndrewJohnsonlamentedthat
thecostincurredinthewartofreetheslaveswouldreducemillionsof
Northernerstodebtpeonageforgenerations.^9
"Wearegoingtopileupadebtthatthetoilingmassesthatshall
comemanygenerationsafteruswillhavetopay,"saidNebraskasenator
GeorgeW.Norrisina speechagainstWilson'sproposed 1917 declara-
tionofwaragainstGermany."Unbornmillionswillbendtheirbacksin
toilinordertopayfortheterriblestepwearenowabourtotake."Io
ForJeffersoniansthereweretwokeygoalsindomesticpolitics.Mer-
chantsandbankershadtobepreventedfromsettingupa monetaryaris-
tocracyasantidemocraticasthebloodaristocraciesofEurope,andthe
cenrralgovernmenthadtobepreventedfromgrowingsopowerfulthat
itthreatenedthefreedomsandrightsofthestatesandcitizensalike.
Thosegoalswererelated,andoneofthemostimportantconnections
wasthenationaldebt.Debtstrengthenedthemercantileclasses,and