[JohnBovenmyer]

>Washington advocated paying them off. Realistically, George had no choice THEN. We had no standing military. We were well and truly broke and we were just starting out with a new form of government. Paying tribute with, IIRC, about a third of what passed for a federal budget while trying to get us domestically on our feet was his least bad alternative. And he got us back on our feet well enough so that his successor, John Adams, could afford to found the Navy. And his successor, Jefferson, was able to use it instead of paying tribute.

[Karl Spooner]

“The rest of the story”. Sounds much better than leaving the impression that Washington was weak on the issue. Thanks.