jefferson, disarmament (true or false)?

Question

Jefferson argued that disarmament promoted peace rather than invited aggression.
True or False?

Answer 1

TRUE

Here's a quote from Jefferson I found in Wiki :
"I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."

As I recall, Jefferson did not like standing armies, and he did not like a strong navy. If memory serves, he favored construction of gunboats to protect just the U.S. coast rather than spending large sums on capital ships to project American power overseas as Britain and other European nations were known to do.

Here's a telling quote from another source (listed below) :
"When Jefferson assumed the Presidency, the crisis in France had passed. He slashed Army and Navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated the tax on whiskey so unpopular in the West, yet reduced the national debt by a third."