Why did George Washington support keeping a small regular army after the American Revolution?

George Washington advocated for a small regular army after the American Revolution primarily to address specific strategic needs while maintaining a reliance on a national militia system. In his 1783 assessment, Sentiments on a Peace Establishment, he outlined that a professional force was necessary to manage conflicts with hostile Native American tribes and to serve as a stable, trained nucleus that could be expanded by a "well-organized militia" during times of foreign war.1

Washington’s support for this structure was rooted in his wartime experience, where he found the independent and diverse state militias to be unreliable and prone to leaving when immediate danger passed. He sought to replace these fragmented forces with a single, centrally coordinated national militia that would be uniformly trained and equipped. Additionally, he recommended the development of war industries, arsenals, and a military school system to ensure the nation's long-term defense readiness. Although Congress initially rejected his comprehensive plan, Washington’s vision for a small, professional standing army remained a foundational element of early United States military policy.1