Existing comment:
The Virginia Manufactory of Arms:
In his final address to Congress in 1796, President George Washington called for the creation of public armories, warning that the new republic should not be "dependent on foreign supply" for arms and ammunition. He was wary of "interference with pursuits of individual industry" but doubted that private enterprise alone would meet the need. "Strong considerations of national policy," he argued, required the investment of public funds.
The anti-Federalists who controlled Virginia politics agreed with Washington's assessment but preferred armories to be a function of state, not national government. Soon after the presidential address, Virginia's General Assembly asked the governor to find an appropriate location in Richmond for "an arsenal and manufactory of arms." |