American reluctance to fund standing forces had a colonial precedent in the backlash against taxes imposed after the immediate war had ended. Those revenues were intended in part to maintain garrisons and naval infrastructure that could deter renewed French or other intervention, even though colonists no longer saw the same urgent threat. The garrisons also strengthened British control, while defence remained the larger military requirement. The episode illustrates the recurring gap between demanding protection and accepting the peacetime taxation needed to sustain it.
Notable Point · 10:00-12:04
Why colonial taxes funded standing defence
The taxation dispute behind the Boston Tea Party becomes an example of why governments struggle to fund permanent forces after an immediate war ends.