After taking office in 1801, President Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826; served 1801–9) continued to promote the idea of a small national government. He wanted most political power to rest with state governments. The federal government was already quite small—tiny when compared with the massive federal government of the United States in the early twenty-first century. But Jefferson wanted to make the various departments of government, including the military, even smaller. As he saw it, the United States did not need a large military during peacetime. A small government also suited Jefferson's economic plan, which relied almost solely on tariffs (taxes on imported goods) for government funding. This plan would work well for the United States as long as trade was healthy. Fortunately for Jefferson, the country experienced a time of peace and prosperity during the first several years of his presidency (see Chapter 7). However, when war between...