Originally Posted by LiveUninhibited

Huh? I think you have presented good evidence that not all of the founding fathers were against a standing army, but that's not what the opening post was about.

He claimed that the founding fathers would be against pre-emptive wars and foreign intervention. The quotes he showed certainly do suggest that, and there is nothing in those quotes that would suggest this was only because America was weak at the time. The quotes all seem to suggest war as a terrible last resort to defend America's liberty or security - not to go around invading other countries for their own good.

But I suppose the point is moot anyhow because the founding fathers were very limited in what they could know. Hundreds of years of experience separate us from them. The American Constitution was more of a proto-type for more democratic republics and we cling to it as if it were some sacred thing.