Chapter CXL: Military Academy--Speech of Mr. Pierce

"MR. CHAIRMAN:--An attempt was made during the last Congress
to bring the subject of the reorganization of the Military
Academy before the country, through a report of a committee.
The same thing has been done during the present session, again
and again, but all efforts have proved alike unsuccessful!
Still, you do not cease to call for appropriations; you require
the people's money for the support of the institution, while
you refuse them the light necessary to enable them to judge of
the propriety of your annual requisitions. Whether the amount
proposed to be appropriated, by the bill upon your table, is
too great or too small, or precisely sufficient to cover the
current expenses of the institution, is a matter into which I
will not at present inquire; but I shall feel bound to oppose
the bill in every stage of its progress. I cannot vote a single
dollar until the resolution of inquiry, presented by my friend
from Kentucky (Mr. Hawes), at an early day in the session, shall
be first taken up and disposed of. I am aware, sir, that it
will be said, because I have heard the same declaration on a
former occasion, that this is not the proper time to discuss the
merits of the institution; that the bill is to make provision
for expenses already incurred in part; and whatever opinions
may be entertained upon the necessity of a reorganization, the
appropriation must be made. I say to gentlemen who are opposed
to the principles of the institution, and to those who believe
that abuses exist, which ought to be exposed and corrected, that
now is their only time, and this the only opportunity, during
the present session, to attain their object, and I trust they
will steadily resist the bill until its friends shall find it
necessary to take up the resolution of inquiry, and give it its
proper reference.

"Sir, why has this investigation been resisted? Is it not an
institution which has already cost this country more than three
millions of dollars, for which you propose, in this very bill,
an appropriation of more than one hundred and thirty thousand
dollars, and which, at the same time, in the estimation of
a large portion of the citizens of this Union, has failed,
eminently failed, to fulfil the objects for which it was
established, of sufficient interest and importance to claim the
consideration of a committee of this House, and of the House
itself? I should have expected the resolution of the gentleman
from Kentucky (Mr. Hawes), merely proposing an inquiry, to pass
without opposition, had I not witnessed the strong sensation,
nay, excitement, that was produced here, at the last session,
by the presentation of his yet unpublished report. Sir, if you
would have an exhibition of highly excited feeling, it requires
little observation to learn that you may produce it at any
moment by attacking such laws as confer exclusive and gratuitous
privileges. The adoption of the resolution of inquiry, at the
last session of Congress, and the appointment of a select
committee under it, were made occasion of newspaper paragraphs,
which, in tone of lamentation and direful prediction, rivalled
the most highly wrought specimens of the panic era. One of
those articles I have preserved, and have before me. It
commences thus: '_The architects of ruin._--This name has been
appropriately given to those who are leading on the base, the
ignorant, and the unprincipled, in a remorseless war upon all
the guards and defences of society.'

"I introduce it here merely to show what are, in certain
quarters, considered the guards and defences of society. After
various compliments, similar to that just cited, the article
proceeds: 'All this is dangerous as novel, and the ultimate
results cannot be contemplated without anxiety. If this spirit
extends, who can check it? "Down with the Bank;" "down with the
Military Academy;" "down with the Judiciary;" "down with the
Senate;" will be followed by watchwords of a worse character.'
Here, Mr. Chairman, you have the United States Bank first, and
then the Military Academy, as the guards and defences of your
country. If it be so, you are, indeed, feebly protected. One
of these guards and defences is already tottering. And who are
the 'architects of ruin' that have resolved its downfall? Are
they the base, the ignorant, and the unprincipled? No, sir. The
most pure and patriotic portion of your community: the staid,
industrious, intelligent farmers and mechanics, through a
public servant, who has met responsibilities and seconded their
wishes, with equal intrepidity and success, in the camp and in
the cabinet, have accomplished this great work. Mr. Chairman,
there is no real danger to be apprehended from this much-dreaded
levelling principle.

"From the middling interest you have derived your most able
and efficient support in the most gloomy and trying periods
of your history. And what have they asked in return? Nothing
but the common advantages and blessings of a free government,
administered under equal and impartial laws. They are
responsible for no portion of your legislation, which, through
its partial and unjust operation, has shaken this Union to
its centre. That has had its origin in a different quarter,
sustained by wealth, the wealth of monopolies, and the power
and influence which wealth, thus accumulated and disposed,
never fails to control. Indeed, sir, while far from demanding
at your hands special favors for themselves, they have not,
in my judgment, been sufficiently jealous of all legislation
conferring exclusive and gratuitous privileges.

"That the law creating the institution, of which I am now
speaking, and the practice under it, is strongly marked by both
these characteristics, is apparent at a single glance. It is
gratuitous, because those who are so fortunate as to obtain
admission there, receive their education without any obligation,
except such as a sense of honor may impose, to return, either by
service or otherwise, the slightest equivalent. It is exclusive,
inasmuch as only one youth, out of a population of more than
47,000, can participate in its advantages at the same time; and
those who are successful are admitted at an age, when their
characters cannot have become developed, and with very little
knowledge of their adaptation, mental or physical, for military
life. The system disregards one of those great principles which,
carried into practice, contributed, perhaps, more than any other
to render the arms of Napoleon invincible for so many years.
Who does not perceive that it destroys the very life and spring
of military ardor and enthusiasm, by utterly foreclosing all
hope of promotion to the soldier and non-commissioned officer?
However meritorious may be his services, however pre-eminent may
become his qualifications for command, all is unavailing. The
portcullis is dropped between him and preferment; the wisdom
of your laws having provided another criterion than that of
admitted courage and conduct, by which to determine who are
worthy of command. They have made an Academy, where a certain
number of young gentlemen are educated annually at the public
expense, and to which there is, of consequence, a general rush,
not so much from sentiments of patriotism and a taste for
military life, as from motives less worthy--the avenue, and
the only avenue, to rank in your army. These are truths. Mr.
Chairman, which no man will pretend to deny; and I leave it
for this House and the nation to determine whether they do not
exhibit a spirit of exclusiveness, alike at variance with the
genius of your government, and the efficiency and chivalrous
character of your military force.

"Sir, no man can feel more deeply interested in the army, or
entertain a higher regard for it, than myself. My earliest
recollections connect themselves fondly and gratefully with the
names of the brave men who, relinquishing the quiet and security
of civil life, were staking their all upon the defence of their
country's rights and honor. One of the most distinguished among
that noble band now occupies and honors a seat upon this floor.
It is not fit that I should indulge in expressions of personal
respect and admiration, which I am sure would find a hearty
response in the bosom of every member of this committee. I
allude to him merely to express the hope that, on some occasion,
we may have, upon this subject, the benefit of his experience
and observation. And if his opinions shall differ from my own, I
promise carefully to review every step by which I have been led
to my present conclusions. You cannot mistake me, sir; I refer
to the hero of Erie. I have declared myself the friend of the
army. Satisfy me, then, what measures are best calculated to
render it effective and what all desire it to be, and I go for
the proposition with my whole heart.

"But I cannot believe that the Military Academy, as at present
organized, is calculated to accomplish this desirable end. It
may, and undoubtedly does, send forth into the country much
military knowledge; but the advantage which your army, or that
which will constitute your army in time of need, derives from
it, is by no means commensurate with the expense you incur.
Here, Mr. Chairman, permit me to say that I deny, utterly, the
expediency, and the right to educate, at the public expense, any
number of young men who, on the completion of their education,
are not to form a portion of your military force, but to return
to the walks of private life. Such was never the operation of
the Military Academy, until after the law of 1812; and the
doctrine, so far as I have been able to ascertain, was first
formally announced by a distinguished individual, at this time
sufficiently jealous of the exercise of executive patronage, and
greatly alarmed by what he conceives to be the tendencies of
this government to centralism and consolidation. It may be found
in the report of the Secretary of War, communicated to Congress
in 1819.

"If it shall, upon due consideration, receive the sanction of
Congress and the country, I can see no limit to the exercise of
power and government patronage. Follow out the principle, and
where will it lead you? You confer upon the national government
the absolute guardianship of literature and science, military
and civil; you need not stop at military science; any one, in
the wide range of sciences, becomes at once a legitimate and
constitutional object of your patronage; you are confined by no
limit but your discretion; you have no check but your own good
pleasure. If you may afford instruction, at the public expense,
in the languages, in philosophy, in chemistry, and in the exact
sciences, to young gentlemen who are under no obligation to
enter the service of their country, but are, in fact, destined
for civil life, why may you not, by parity of reasoning, provide
the means of a legal, or theological, or medical education, on
the ground that the recipients of your bounty will carry forth
a fund of useful knowledge, that may, at some time, under some
circumstances, produce a beneficial influence, and promote 'the
general welfare?' Sir, I fear that even some of us may live to
see the day when this 'general welfare' of your constitution
will leave us little ground to boast of a government of limited
powers. But I did not propose at this time to discuss the
abstract question of constitutional right. I will regard the
expediency alone; and, whether the power exist or not, its
exercise, in an institution like this, is subversive of the
only principle upon which a school, conducted at the public
expense, can be made profitable to the public service--that of
making an admission into your school, and an education there,
secondary to an appointment in the army. Sir, this distinctive
feature characterized all your legislation, and all executive
recommendations, down to 1810.

"I may as well notice here, as at any time, an answer which
has always been ready when objections have been raised to
this institution--an answer which, if it has not proved quite
satisfactory to minds that yield their assent more readily
to strong reasons than to the authority of great names, has
yet, unquestionably, exercised a powerful influence upon the
public mind. It has not gone forth upon the authority of an
individual merely, but has been published to the world with the
approbation of a committee of a former Congress. It is this:
that the institution has received, at different times, the
sanction of such names as Washington, Adams, and Jefferson;
and this has been claimed with such boldness, and in a form so
imposing, as almost to forbid any question of its accuracy.
If this were correct, in point of fact, it would be entitled
to the most profound respect and consideration, and no change
should be urged against the weight of such authority, without
mature deliberation, and thorough conviction of, expediency.
Unfortunately for the advocates of the institution, and
fortunately for the interests of the country, this claim cannot
be sustained by reference to executive documents, from the first
report of General Knox, in 1790, to the close of Mr. Jefferson's
administration.

"The error has undoubtedly innocently occurred, by confounding
the Military Academy at West Point as it was, with the Military
Academy at West Point as it is. The report of Secretary
Knox, just referred to, is characterized by this distinctive
feature--that the corps proposed to be organized were 'to serve
as an actual defence to the community,' and to constitute a
part of the active military force of the country, 'to serve in
the field, or on the frontier, or in the fortifications of the
sea-coast, as the commander-in-chief may direct.' At a later
period, the report of the Secretary of War (Mr. McHenry),
communicated to Congress in 1800 although it proposed a plan
for military schools, differing in many essential particulars
from those which had preceded it, still retained the distinctive
feature just named as characterizing the report of General Knox.

"With regard to educating young men gratuitously, which,
whatever may have been the design, I am prepared to show is the
practical operation of the Academy, as at present organized,
I cannot, perhaps, exhibit more clearly the sentiments of the
Executive at that early day, urgent as was the occasion, and
strong as must have been the desire, to give strength and
efficiency to the military force, than by reading one or two
paragraphs from a supplementary report of Secretary McHenry,
addressed to the chairman of the Committee of Defence, on the
31st January, 1800.

"The Secretary says: 'Agreeably to the plan of the Military
Academy, the directors thereof are to be officers taken from
the army; consequently, no expense will be incurred by such
appointments. The plan also contemplates that officers of the
army, cadets, and non-commissioned officers, shall receive
instruction in the Academy. As the rations and fuel which
they are entitled to in the army will suffice for them in the
Academy, no additional expense will be required for objects of
maintenance while there. The expenses of servants and certain
incidental expenses relative to the police and administration,
may be defrayed by those who shall be admitted, out of their pay
and emoluments.'

"You will observe, Mr. Chairman, from the phraseology of the
report, that all were to constitute a part of your actual
military force; and that whatever additional charges should
be incurred, were to be defrayed by those who might receive
the advantages of instruction. These were provisions, just, as
they are important. Let me call your attention for a moment
to a report of Col. Williams, which was made the subject of a
special message, communicated to Congress by Mr. Jefferson,
on the 18th of March, 1808. The extract I propose to read, as
sustaining fully the views of Mr. McHenry upon this point, is
in the following words: 'It might be well to make the plan upon
such a scale as not only to take in the minor officers of the
navy, but also any youths from any of the States who might wish
for such an education, whether designed for the army or navy,
or neither, and let them be assessed to the value of their
education, which might form a fund for extra or contingent
expenses.' Sir, these are the true doctrines upon this subject;
doctrines worthy of the administration under which they were
promulgated, and in accordance with the views of statesmen in
the earlier and purer days of the Republic. Give to the officers
of your army the highest advantages for perfection in all the
branches of military science, and let those advantages be open
to all, in rotation, and under such terms and regulations as
shall be at once impartial toward the officers and advantageous
to the service; but let all young gentlemen who have a taste
for military life, and desire to adopt arms as a profession,
prepare themselves for subordinate situations at their own
expense, or at the expense of their parents or guardians, in
the same manner that the youth of the country are qualified for
the professions of civil life. Sir, while upon this subject
of gratuitous education, I will read an extract from 'Dupin's
Military Force of Great Britain,' to show what favor it finds in
another country, from the practice and experience of which we
may derive some advantages, however far from approving of its
institutions generally. The extract is from the 2d vol. 71st
page, and relates to the terms on which young gentlemen are
admitted to the junior departments of the Royal Military College
at Sandhurst.

"_First_: The sons of officers of all ranks, whether of the
land or sea forces, who have died in the service, leaving their
families in pecuniary distress; this class are instructed,
boarded, and habited gratuitously by the State; being required
only to provide their equipments on admission, and to maintain
themselves in linen. _Secondly_: The sons of all officers of
the army above the rank of subalterns actually in the service,
and who pay a sum proportioned to their ranks, according to a
scale per annum regulated by the supreme board. The sons of
living naval officers of rank not below that of master and
commander, are also admitted on payment of annual stipends,
similar to those of corresponding ranks in the army. The orphan
sons of officers, who have not left their families in pecuniary
difficulties, are admitted into this class on paying the
stipends required of officers of the rank held by their parents
at the time of their decease. _Thirdly_: The sons of noblemen
and private gentlemen who pay a yearly sum equivalent to the
expenses of their education, board, and clothing, according to a
rate regulated from time to time by the commissioners.' Sir, let
it be remembered that these are the regulations of a government
which, with all its wealth and power, is, from its structure and
practice, groaning under the accumulated weight of pensions,
sinecures, and gratuities, and yet you observe, that only one
class, 'the sons of officers of all ranks, whether of the land
or sea forces, who have died in the service, leaving their
families in pecuniary distress,' are educated gratuitously.

"I do not approve even of this, but I hold it up in contrast
with your own principles and practice. If the patience of
the committee would warrant me, Mr. Chairman, I could show,
by reference to Executive communications, and the concurrent
legislation of Congress in 1794, 1796, 1802, and 1808, that
prior to the last mentioned date, such an institution as we now
have was neither recommended nor contemplated. Upon this point
I will not detain you longer; but when hereafter confronted by
the authority of great names, I trust we shall be told where the
expressions of approbation are to be found. We may then judge
of their applicability to the Military Academy as at present
organized. I am far from desiring to see this country destitute
of a Military Academy; but I would have it a school of practice,
and instruction, for officers actually in the service of the
United States: not an institution for educating gratuitously,
young gentlemen, who, on the completion of their term, or after
a few months' leave of absence, resign their commissions and
return to the pursuits of civil life. If any one doubts that
this is the practical operation of your present system, I refer
him to the annual list of resignations, to be found in the
Adjutant General's office.

"Firmly as I am convinced of the necessity of a reorganization,
I would take no step to create an unjust prejudice against the
institution. All that I ask, and, so far as I know, all that
any of the opponents of the institution ask, is, that after a
full and impartial investigation, it shall stand or fall upon
its merits. I know there are graduates of the institution who
are ornaments to the army, and an honor to their country; but
they, and not the seminary, are entitled to the credit. Here
I would remark, once for all, that I do not reflect upon the
officers or pupils of the Academy; it is to the principles of
the institution itself, as at present organized, that I object.
It is often said that the graduates leave the institution with
sentiments that but ill accord with the feelings and opinions
of the great mass of the people of that government from which
they derive the means of education, and that many who take
commissions possess few qualifications for the command of men,
either in war or in peace. Most of the members of this House
have had more or less intercourse with these young gentlemen,
and I leave it for each individual to form his own opinion
of the correctness of the charges. Thus much I will say for
myself, that I believe that these, and greater evils, are the
natural, if not the inevitable, result of the principles in
which this institution is founded; and any system of education,
established upon similar principles, on government patronage
alone, will produce like results, now and for ever. Sir, what
are some of these results? By the report of the Secretary of
War, dated January, 1831, we are informed that, "by an estimate
of the last five years (preceding that date), it appears that
the supply of the army from the corps of graduated cadets, has
averaged about twenty-two annually, while those who graduated
are about forty, making in each year an excess of eighteen.
The number received annually into the Academy averages one
hundred, of which only the number stated, to wit, forty, pass
through the prescribed course of education at schools, and
become supernumerary lieutenants in the army." By the report
of the Secretary of War, December, 1830, we are informed, that
"the number of promotions to the army from this corps, for the
last five years, has averaged about twenty-two annually while
the number of graduates has been at an average of forty. This
excess, which is annually increasing, has placed eighty-seven
in waiting until vacancies shall take place, and show that in
the next year, probably, and in the succeeding one, certainly,
there will be an excess beyond what the existing law authorizes
to be commissioned. There will then be 106 supernumerary brevet
second lieutenants appurtenant to the army, at an average annual
expense of $80,000. Sir, that results here disclosed were not
anticipated by Mr. Madison, is apparent from a recurrence to his
messages of 1810 and 1811.

"In passing the law of 1812, both Congress and the President
acted for the occasion, and they expected those who should
succeed them to act in a similar manner. Their feelings of
patriotism and resentment were aroused, by beholding the
privileges of freemen wantonly invaded, our glorious stars
and stripes disregarded, and national and individual rights
trampled in the dust. The war was pending. The necessity for
increasing the military force of the country was obvious and
pressing, and the urgent occasion for increased facilities
for military instruction, equally apparent. Sir, it was under
circumstances like these, when we had not only enemies abroad,
but, I blush to say, enemies at home, that the institution,
as at present organized, had its origin. It will hardly be
pretended that it was the original design of the law to
augment the number of persons instructed, beyond the wants of
the public service. Well, the report of the Secretary shows,
that for five years prior to 1831, the Academy had furnished
eighteen supernumeraries annually. A practical operation of
this character has no sanction in the recommendation of Mr.
Madison. The report demonstrates, further, the _fruitfulness_
and _utility_ of this institution, by showing the fact, that but
two-fifths of those who enter the Academy graduate, and that but
a fraction more than one-fifth enter the public service. This is
not the fault of the administration of the Academy; it is not
the fault of the young gentlemen who are _sent_ there; on your
present peace establishment there can be but little to stimulate
them, particularly in the acquisition of military science. There
can hardly be but one object in the mind of the student, and
that would be to obtain an education for the purposes of civil
life. The difficulty is, that the institution has outlived both
the occasion that called it into existence, and its original
design. I have before remarked, that the Academy was manifestly
enlarged to correspond with the army and militia actually to
be called into service. Look then for a moment at facts, and
observe with how much wisdom, justice, and sound policy, you
retain the provisions of the law of 1812. The total authorized
force of 1813, after the declaration of war, was 58,254; and in
October, 1814, the military establishment amounted to 62,428.
By the act of March, 1815, the peace establishment was limited
to 10,000, and now hardly exceeds that number. Thus you make
a reduction of more than 50,000 in your actual military force,
to accommodate the expenses of the government to its wants.
And why do you refuse to do the same with your grand system
of public education? Why does that remain unchanged? Why not
reduce it at once, at least to the actual wants of the service,
and dispense with your corps of supernumerary lieutenants? Sir,
there is, there can be but one answer to the question, and that
may be found in the war report of 1819, to which I have before
had occasion to allude. The Secretary says, 'the cadets who
cannot be provided for in the army will return to private life,
but in the event of a war their knowledge will not be lost to
the country.' Indeed, sir, these young gentlemen, if they could
be _induced_ to take the field, would, after a lapse of ten or
fifteen years, come up from the bar, or it may be the pulpit,
fresh in military science, and admirably qualified for command
in the face of an enemy. The magazine of facts, to prove at
the same glance the extravagance and unfruitfulness of this
institution, is not easily exhausted: but I am admonished by
the lateness of the hour to omit many considerations which I
regard as both interesting and important. I will only detain
the committee to make a single statement, placing side by side
some aggregate results. There has already been expended upon
the institution more than three millions three hundred thousand
dollars. Between 1815, and 1821, thirteen hundred and eighteen
students were admitted into the Academy; and of all the cadets
who were ever there, only two hundred and sixty-five remained in
the service at the end of 1830. Here are the expenses you have
incurred, and the products you have realized.

"I leave them to be balanced by the people. But for myself,
believing as I do, that the Academy stands forth as an anomaly
among the institutions of this country; that it is at variance
with the spirit, if not the letter of the constitution under
which we live; so long as this House shall deny investigation
into its principles and practical operation, I, as an individual
member, will refuse to appropriate the first dollar for its
support."