308 FRANCES PACKARD YOUNG have as little of it as possible. He combated Calhoun's argu- ment for a large staff of officers and the maintenance of a standing army, which was always prepared for immediate warfare. Because our population was double that of 1802, was no reason for an army twice as large. He knew that there were not as many as seventy-three forts to defend, as Calhoun had reported, and that it was not necessary to use the army to protect the frontier which the PASSAGE United States had recently acquired. 27 OF BILL The Bill to reduce the army to six thou- sand soldiers was passed on January 23, 1821, by a majority of 109-48. 28 The 16th and 17th Congresses hesitated to make even the necessary military appropriations for CONGRESSIONAL 1822 and '23, because Calhoun had over- ACTION AGAINST drawn the account for 1821, and they MILITARY feared that such an act was a dangerous APPROPRIATIONS usurpation of power. 29 Others were afraid that the United States Treasury could not meet all the demands, while a few accused him of needless extravagance. 30 Mr. Cannon, of Tennessee, attacked the appropriation for the support of the West Point Military ATTACK ON WEST Academy, and even made a motion that POINT MILITARY they consider abolishing it. He declared ACADEMY that it was a school where only the sons of rich men were taught military science. This would result in establishing an aristocracy in the United 27 Annals of Congress, i6th Cong., 2nd Sess., Ill, 767. 28 House of Representatives, Journal, i6th Cong., 2nd Sess., 160. Vote on Bill to reduce army to 6coo. First figure is the negative vote from the State named. Second figure is the number of representatives from that State: Kentucky 3-12 Alabama i- i Illinois i- i Maryland 4- 9 Georgia 2- 6 Ohio i- 6 Pennsylvania 8-25 N. Carolina 1-14 New York 8-27 New Jersey 1-3 Massachusetts 4-23 Virginia 4-27 Louisiana i- i S. Carolina 4- 9 Tennessee i- 6 Delaware 1-2 Taken from House Journal, i6th Cong., 2nd Sess., p. 161. Out of these rep- resentatives 28 were listed in some party and 14 of them belonged to the Demo- cratic party in 1818. Congressional Bibliography. 29 Annals of Congress, i6th Cong., 2nd Ses., Ill, 710. 30 Annals of Congress, i7th Cong., ist Sess., I, 1105.
