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141-533: When the American Revolutionary War began in April 1775, the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army. Previously, each colony had relied upon the militia , made up of part-time civilian-soldiers. The initial orders from Congress authorized ten companies of riflemen. The first full regiment of Regular Army infantry , the 3rd Infantry Regiment , was not formed until June 1784. After the war,

282-478: A Congressional committee under Alexander Hamilton sought opinions on a permanent armed force. Washington submitted his "Sentiments on a Peace Establishment," which called for only a small force of only 2,631 men regiment to guard the western frontier and the borders with Canada and Florida. Planning for the transition to a peacetime force had begun in April 1783 at the request of a congressional committee chaired by Alexander Hamilton . The commander-in-chief discussed

423-620: A blundering execution of unwarlike antics, these men would start drinking and usually several fights occurred." Intolerable Acts The Intolerable Acts , sometimes referred to as the Insufferable Acts or Coercive Acts, were a series of five punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party . The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in

564-659: A central role in winning the Spanish–American War of 1898 and the less well known Philippine–American War of 1899–1901. As settlement sped up across the West after the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, clashes with Native Americans of the Plains and southwest reached a final phase. The military's mission was to clear the land of free-roaming Indians and put them onto reservations. The stiff resistance of battle-hardened, well-armed mounted Indian warriors resulted in

705-528: A combination of all those factors. However, the U.S. government still believed militia were inadequate, and the desire for a professional regular army prevailed. Military budgets were greatly increased at this time and a smaller, standing federal army, rather than States' militias, was deemed better for the national defense. By the 1830s, the American frontier expanded westwards, with the Indian Wars in

846-596: A commanding general in the field, although the Congress did not authorize this position. Through the 1840s and 1850s, Winfield Scott was the senior general, only retiring at the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The bureau chiefs acted as advisers to the Secretary of War while commanding their own troops and field installations. The bureaus frequently conflicted among themselves, but in disputes with

987-760: A dual role for the National Guard - a militia for state service and a trained reserve for the regular army. Congress enacted this system embodied in the Dick Act (1903). Prior to 1903, the senior military officer in the army was the Commanding General of the United States Army , who reported to the Secretary of War . From 1864 to 1865, Major General Henry Halleck (who had previously been Commanding General) served as "Chief of Staff of

1128-496: A due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage. Some militia units appeared without adequate arms, as evidenced in this letter from John Adams to his wife, dated August 26, 1777: The militia are turning out with great alacrity both in Maryland and Pennsylvania. They are distressed for want of arms. Many have none, we shall rake and scrape enough to do Howe's business, by favor of

1269-623: A fair trial following the Boston Massacre in 1770. The Quartering Act , which applied to all British colonies in North America, sought to create a more effective method of housing British troops. In a previous act, the colonies had been required to provide housing for soldiers, but colonial legislatures had been uncooperative in doing so. The new Quartering Act allowed a governor to house soldiers in other buildings if suitable quarters were not provided. While many sources claim that

1410-612: A great power. Robert Spitzer, citing Daniel Boorstin, describes this political dichotomy of the public popularity of the militia versus the military value: While the reliance upon militias was politically satisfying, it proved to be an administrative and military nightmare. State detachments could not be easily combined into larger fighting units; soldiers could not be relied on to serve for extended periods, and desertions were common; officers were elected, based on popularity rather than experience or training; discipline and uniformity were almost nonexistent. General George Washington defended

1551-686: A group of Patriot colonists associated with the Sons of Liberty destroyed 342 chests of tea in Boston, Massachusetts , an act that came to be known as the Boston Tea Party . The colonists partook in this action because Parliament had passed the Tea Act , which granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies, thereby saving the company from bankruptcy. This made British tea less expensive. In addition, there

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1692-408: A half million of citizens with arms in their hands, officered by men chosen from among themselves ..." [119] The Antifederalists were not persuaded by these arguments, in part because of the degree of control over the militia given to the national government by the proposed constitution. The fears of the more conservative opponents centered upon the possible phasing out of the general militia in favor of

1833-402: A lack of training for engineers and officers. George Washington repeatedly warned of these shortcomings up until his death in 1799. Two days before his death, in a letter to General Alexander Hamilton, George Washington wrote: "The establishment of a Military Academy upon a respectable and extensive basis has ever been considered by me as an object of primary importance to this country; and while I

1974-576: A little bit of all those factors. In the Battle of Plattsburgh , the American militia dug entrenchments, fixed fortifications, disguised the roads with camouflage, and felled trees across the road. The Regulars and militia harassed the British army by firing at them from behind stone fences, trees, and whatever cover they could find before retreating to their entrenched fortified defense. As the British lost

2115-518: A peacetime force in October 1783. When moderate delegates then offered an alternative in April 1784 which scaled the projected army down to 900 men in one artillery and three infantry battalions, Congress rejected it as well, in part because New York feared that men retained from Massachusetts might take sides in a land dispute between Vermont and New York. Another proposal to retain 350 men and raise 700 new recruits also failed. On June 2, Congress ordered

2256-691: A recruiting pool for the Provincial Forces. The legislature of the colony would authorize a certain force level for the season's campaign and set recruitment quotas for each local militia. In theory, militia members could be drafted by lot if there were inadequate forces for the Provincial Regulars; however, the draft was rarely resorted to because provincial regulars were highly paid (more highly paid than their regular British Army counterparts) and rarely engaged in combat. In September 1755, George Washington , then adjutant-general of

2397-656: A series of measures to increase tax revenue from the colonies. Parliament believed that these acts, such as the Stamp Act 1765 and the Townshend Acts of 1767, were legitimate means of having the colonies pay their fair share of the costs of maintaining the British Empire . Although protests led to the repeal of the Stamp and Townshend Acts, Parliament adhered to the position that it had the right to legislate for

2538-596: A smaller, more readily corrupted, select militia. Proposals for such a select militia already had been advanced by individuals such as Baron Von Steuben , Washington's Inspector General, who proposed supplementing the general militia with a force of 21,000 men given government- issued arms and special training. [120] An article in the Connecticut Journal expressed the fear that the proposed constitution might allow Congress to create such select militias: "[T]his looks too much like Baron Steuben's militia, by which

2679-524: A specific sector of the frontier, plus an artillery regiment. His proposed regimental organizations followed Continental Army patterns but had a provision for increased strength in the event of war. Washington expected the militia primarily to provide security for the country at the start of a war until the regular army could expand—the same role it had carried out in 1775 and 1776. Steuben and Duportail submitted their own proposals to Congress for consideration. Congress again rejected Washington's concept for

2820-533: A standing army was meant and intended." [121] In Pennsylvania, John Smiley told the ratifying convention that "Congress may give us a select militia which will in fact be a standing army", and worried that, [p.34] with this force in hand, "the people in general may be disarmed". [122] Similar concerns were raised by Richard Henry Lee in Virginia. In his widely-read pamphlet, Letters from the Federal Farmer to

2961-419: A standing army, the bane of liberty. Now it must be evident, that under this provision, together with their other powers, congress could take such measures with respect to a militia, as make a standing army necessary. Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins. The "religiously scrupulous" clause

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3102-399: A state charter under names that they themselves chose. The states' militia continued service, notably, in the slave-holding states, to maintain public order by performing slave patrols to round up fugitive slaves. A Mississippi town history described their militia of the 1840s: "The company musters of the citizen soldiers were held four times a year...After a brief parade, which consisted in

3243-509: A successful mounted raid into Canada with an almost entirely militia force. William Henry Harrison led an incursion into Thames with an almost entirely Kentucky mounted militia force which captured an entire British army, eliminated Tecumseh, and suffered very few casualties. Militias fared better and proved more reliable when protected behind defensive entrenchments and fixed fortifications, using guerrilla tactics such as firing from behind cover, being reinforced with Regular armed forces, or

3384-514: A total of eighteen engagements, including four major battles and at least four fiercely contested skirmishes." The Nez Perce were finally surrounded at the Battle of Bear Paw and surrendered. The Great Sioux War of 1876–77 was conducted by the Lakota under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse . The conflict began after repeated violations of the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) once gold was discovered in

3525-553: A view expressed by the slogan " No taxation without representation ". After the Townshend Acts, some colonial essayists took this line of thinking even further, and began to question whether Parliament had any legitimate jurisdiction in the colonies at all. This question of the extent of Parliament's sovereignty in the colonies was the issue underlying what became the American Revolution. On 16 December 1773,

3666-419: Is not clear which side opened fire. This became known as "the shot heard round the world". Eight militiamen were killed and ten wounded, whereupon the remainder took flight. The British continued on to Concord and were unable to find most of the arms and ammunition of the patriots. As the British marched back toward Boston, patriot militiamen assembled along the route, taking cover behind stone walls, and sniped at

3807-548: Is often observed in written and printed materials from the 17th century through the 19th century. The early colonists of America considered the militia an important social institution, necessary to provide defense and public safety. On August 29, 1643, the Plymouth Colony Court allowed and established a military discipline to be erected and maintained. During the French and Indian Wars , town militia formed

3948-566: Is today the city of Toledo, Ohio , near the Ohio/Michigan border. The legion then advanced unopposed to Kekionga in northern Indiana near the Ohio border and established Fort Wayne at the site of the future city. The Treaty of Greenville in 1795 brought peace to the northern Ohio frontier and opened eastern and southern Ohio to settlement. The legion established other forts after Fort Wayne , notably Fort St. Mary's in western Ohio, and

4089-663: The 1st and 2nd Regiments from the Continental Army. These units then became the First and Second Sub-Legions . The Third and Fourth Sub-Legions were raised from further recruits. From June 1792 to November 1792, the Legion was stationed at Fort LaFayette in Pittsburgh. Throughout the winter of 1792-3, existing troops along with new recruits were drilled in military skills, tactics, and discipline at Legionville on

4230-423: The 1st Continental Regiment in 1776. On June 15, the Congress elected George Washington as Commander-in-Chief by unanimous vote The enlisted soldiers were young, poor, and often of Irish or German background. About one in ten were African American. Washington succeeded in forcing the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and almost captured later that year when he lost New York City . After crossing

4371-456: The Battles of Lexington and Concord , in which a group of local militias constituted the American side (the " Patriots "). On April 19, 1775, a British force 800 strong marched out of Boston to Concord intending to destroy patriot arms and ammunition. At 5:00 in the morning at Lexington, they met about 70 armed militiamen whom they ordered to disperse, but the militiamen refused. Firing ensued; it

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4512-588: The First American Regiment slowly organized and achieved permanent status as an infantry regiment of the new Regular Army. The lineage of the First American Regiment is carried on by the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Economic constraints forced the new nation to rely heavily on irregular state militias. The Continental Army was quickly disbanded as part of the American distrust of standing armies , with

4653-641: The First Continental Congress . The Continental Congress created the Continental Association , an agreement to boycott British goods. Additionally, it was decided that if the Intolerable Acts were not reversed after a year, goods were to stop being exported to Great Britain as well. The Congress also pledged to support Massachusetts in case of attack, which meant that all of the colonies would become involved when

4794-628: The Indian Wars . In the Apache and Navajo Wars , Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson forced the Mescalero Apache onto a reservation in 1862. Skirmishes between Americans and Apaches continued until after the turn of the century. In 1863–1864, Carson used a scorched earth policy in the Navajo campaign , burning Navajo fields and homes, and capturing or killing their livestock. He was aided by other Indian tribes with long-standing enmity toward

4935-583: The Intolerable Acts in 1774. Colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed creating a national militia force, but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea. On April 23, 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized the raising of a colonial army consisting of 26 company regiments, followed shortly by similar but smaller forces raised by New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. On June 14, 1775,

5076-587: The Mexican–American War of 1846–48. At the outset of the American Civil War , the regular U.S. Army was small and generally assigned to defend the nation's frontiers from attacks by Indians. Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army fought more wars with Indians, who resisted U.S. expansion into the center of the continent. A combined conscript and volunteer force, the National Army, was formed by

5217-697: The Navajos , chiefly the Utes . Later in 1864, he fought a combined force of more than one thousand Kiowa , Comanche , and Plains Apache at the First Battle of Adobe Walls . Carson retreated but he managed to destroy an Indian village and winter supplies. In the Red River War which followed the U.S. army systematically destroyed Comanche property, horses, and livelihood in the Texas panhandle, resulting in

5358-540: The Ohio River near Fort McIntosh named Legionville for training. In September 1793, the Legion moved by barge down the Ohio to a camp named Hobson's Choice two miles from Fort Washington ( Cincinnati ) on the western frontier. There it was joined by units from the Kentucky Militia . Their assignment was to advance to the site of St. Clair's earlier defeat, recover the cannons lost there, and continue to

5499-539: The Quartermasters Corps . Congress later authorized both the creation of Field Artillery and Cavalry units in November 1775 and December 1776 respectively. Broadly speaking, Continental forces consisted of several successive armies, or establishments: In addition to the Continental Army regulars, local militia units, raised and funded by individual colonies/states, participated in battles throughout

5640-497: The Second Continental Congress decided to proceed with the establishment of a Continental Army for purposes of common defense, adopting the forces already in place outside Boston (22,000 troops) and New York (5,000). It also raised the first ten companies of Continental troops on a one-year enlistment, riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia to be used as light infantry , who later became

5781-757: The Thirteen Colonies . The British Parliament hoped these punitive measures would, by making an example of Massachusetts, reverse the trend of colonial resistance to parliamentary authority that had begun with the Sugar Act 1764 . A fifth act, the Quebec Act , enlarged the boundaries of what was then the Province of Quebec notably southwestward into the Ohio Country and other future mid-western states, and instituted reforms generally favorable to

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5922-614: The U.S. Congress , has changed over time. During colonial America , all able-bodied men of a certain age range were members of the militia , depending on each colony's rule. Individual towns formed local independent militias for their own defense. The year before the U.S. Constitution was ratified , The Federalist Papers detailed the Founding Fathers ' paramount vision of the militia in 1787. The new Constitution empowered Congress to "organize, arm, and discipline" this national military force, leaving significant control in

6063-660: The War on Terror , U.S. and other NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, replacing the Taliban government. The Army took part in the U.S. and allied 2003 invasion of Iraq . The Continental Army consisted of troops from all 13 colonies. When the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the revolutionaries in the Thirteen Colonies did not have an army. Previously, each colony of British America had relied upon

6204-657: The first full regiment of Regular Army infantry , the 3rd Infantry Regiment , was not formed until June 1784. After the authorization of the creation of a Continental Army, Congress, on 16 June 1775, created multiple departments to help support the operations of the Army. These four departments would later be renamed as Corps: the Adjutant General's Corps , the Army Corps of Engineers , the Finance Corps and

6345-466: The francophone Catholic inhabitants of the region. Although unrelated to the other four Acts, it was passed in the same legislative session and seen by the colonists as one of the Intolerable Acts. The Patriots viewed the acts as an arbitrary violation of the rights of Massachusetts, and in September 1774 they organized the First Continental Congress to coordinate a protest. As tensions escalated,

6486-407: The militia , made up of part-time civilian-soldiers, for local defense, or the raising of temporary "provincial regiments" during specific crises such as the French and Indian War . As tensions with the British government increased in the years leading up to the war, colonists began to reform their militia in preparation for the potential conflict. Training of militiamen increased after the passage of

6627-422: The American communities. In Albany County, New York, the militia established a Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies to look out for and investigate people with suspicious allegiances. Politically, the militia was highly popular during the postwar period, though to some extent, based more on pride of victory in the recent war than on the realities. This skepticism of the actual value of relying upon

6768-734: The Army" under the Commanding General, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant , thus serving in a different office and not as the senior officer in the army. In 1910, the U.S. Signal Corps acquired and flew the Army's first aircraft, the Wright Model A biplane. The Maneuver Division was formed in San Antonio, Texas , in March 1911, to undertake offensive operations against Mexico during the Mexican Revolution . This

6909-674: The British from burning the new capital of Washington, D.C. However, the Regular Army , under Generals Winfield Scott and Jacob Brown , proved they were professional and capable of winning tactical victories in the Niagara campaign of 1814. Between 1815 and 1860, the main role of the U.S. Army was fighting Native Americans in the West in the American Indian Wars , and manning coast artillery stations at major ports. The U.S. used regular units and many volunteer units in

7050-483: The British. At Meriam's Corner in Concord, the British columns had to close in to cross a narrow bridge, exposing themselves to concentrated, deadly fire. The British retreat became a rout. It was only with the help of an additional detachment of 900 troops that the British force managed to return to Boston. This marked the beginning of the war. It was "three days after the affair of Lexington and Concord that any movement

7191-490: The Confederacy. Grant fought a remarkable series of bloody battles with Lee in Virginia in the summer of 1864. Lee's defensive tactics resulted in higher casualties for Grant's army, but Lee lost strategically overall as he could not replace his casualties and was forced to retreat into trenches around his capital, Richmond, Virginia . Meanwhile, in the West, William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta in 1864. His March to

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7332-504: The Confederates. At Ft. Pillow on April 12, 1864 Confederate units under Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest went wild and massacred black soldiers attempting to surrender, which further inflamed passions. Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army fought a series of wars with Native Americans, who resisted U.S. expansion into the center of the continent. By the 1890s the U.S. saw itself as a potential international player. The Army played

7473-760: The Constitutional Convention (the Founding Fathers/Framers of the U.S. Constitution ) under Article 1; section 8, clauses 15 and 16 of the federal constitution, granted Congress the power to "provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia", as well as, and in distinction to, the power to raise an army and a navy. The U.S. Congress is granted the power to use the militia of the U.S. for three specific missions, as described in Article 1, section 8, clause 15: "To provide for

7614-431: The Continental Army was quickly disbanded because of the American distrust of standing armies, and irregular state militias became the new nation's sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point 's arsenal. During the War of 1812, an invasion of Canada failed due to state militias being widely used, and U.S. troops were unable to stop

7755-438: The Delaware River in the dead of winter, he defeated the British forces in two battles, at Trenton and Princeton , retook New Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781 . Historians laud Washington for his selection and supervision of his generals, encouragement of morale and ability to hold together

7896-414: The Heaven. The initial enthusiasm of Patriot militiamen in the beginning days of the war soon waned. The historian Garry Wills explains, The fervor of the early days in the reorganized militias wore off in the long grind of an eight-year war. Now the right to elect their own officers was used to demand that the men not serve away from their state. Men evaded service, bought substitutes to go for them as in

8037-465: The Indian wars combined from 1790 to 1910, regular cavalry units fought in about 1000 engagements and suffered more than 2000 total killed and wounded. Disease and accidents caused far more Army casualties than combat; annually, eight soldiers per 1000 died from disease, and five per 1000 died from battle wounds or accidents. Elihu Root was United States Secretary of War under presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt , 1899–1904. He reformed

8178-432: The Legion with the rank of major general . A month later, the combined force under Wayne and Brigadier General Scott of Kentucky advanced northward into Indian territory beyond the northern outpost Fort Jefferson to establish the first in a succession of frontier forts on Ohio's western border named Fort Greene Ville . The northern campaign culminated in victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794 near what

8319-413: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress, observing the British military buildup, deemed their militia resources to be insufficient: the troop strength, "including the sick and absent, amounted to about seventeen thousand men ... this was far short of the number wanted, that the council recommended an immediate application to the New England governments to make up the deficiency": ... they recommended to

8460-500: The Miami capital at Kekionga to establish U.S. sovereignty over northern and western Ohio and beyond. However, the United States military realized it needed a well-trained standing army following St. Clair's defeat on November 4, 1791, when a force led by Major General Arthur St. Clair was almost entirely wiped out by the Northwestern Confederacy near Fort Recovery, Ohio . The plans, which were supported by U.S. President George Washington and Henry Knox , Secretary of War , led to

8601-472: The Ohio River in 1811, made possible inexpensive travel using the river systems, especially the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries. Army expeditions up the Missouri River in 1818–25 allowed engineers to improve the technology. For example, the Army's steamboat " Western Engineer " of 1819 combined a very shallow draft with one of the earliest stern wheels. In 1819–25 Colonel Henry Atkinson developed keelboats with hand-powered paddle wheels. As

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8742-482: The Port Act because it unilaterally took away Massachusetts' charter and brought it under control of the British government. Under the terms of the Government Act, almost all positions in the colonial government were to be appointed by the governor, Parliament, or the king. The act also severely limited town meetings in Massachusetts to one per year, unless the governor called for one. Colonists outside Massachusetts feared that their governments could now also be changed by

8883-437: The Potomac in the Eastern Theater) comprising brigades, divisions and corps headquarters. The rapidly growing armies were relatively poorly trained when the first major battle of the war occurred at Bull Run in the middle of 1861. The embarrassing Union defeat and subsequent inability of the Confederacy to capitalize on their victory resulted in both sides spending more time organizing and training their green armies. Much of

9024-417: The Quartering Act allowed troops to be billeted in occupied private homes, historian David Ammerman's 1974 study claimed that this is a myth, and that the act only permitted troops to be quartered in unoccupied buildings. Although unrelated to the aforementioned Acts, the Quebec Act , passed in the same parliamentary session, was considered by the colonists to be one of the Intolerable Acts. The Act expanded

9165-488: The Republican, Lee warned that liberties might be undermined by the creation of a select militia that "[would] answer to all the purposes of an army", and concluded that "the Constitution ought to secure a genuine and guard against a select militia by providing that the militia shall always be kept well organized, armed, and disciplined, and include, according to the past and general usage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms." Note: In Federalist Paper 29 Hamilton argued

9306-411: The Revolution had been. An invasion of Canada failed due to the over-reliance of using state militias , and U.S. troops were unable to stop the British Army from burning the new capital of Washington, D.C. However, the Regular Army, under Generals Winfield Scott and Jacob Brown , proved they were professional and able to win tactical victories in the Niagara campaign of 1814. The nation celebrated

9447-404: The Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, leading to the declaration of an independent United States of America in July 1776. Relations between the Thirteen Colonies and the British Parliament slowly but steadily worsened after the end of the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War) in 1763. The war had plunged the British government deep into debt, and so the British Parliament enacted

9588-430: The Sea destroyed a hundred-mile-wide swath of Georgia, with little Confederate resistance. In 1865, the Confederacy collapsed after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse . In all, 2.2 million men served in the Union army; 360,000 of whom died from all causes – two-thirds from disease. The Volunteer Army was demobilized in summer 1865. While the Confederacy suffered from a worsening lack of adequate supplies,

9729-440: The Southern militia's great victory under Andrew Jackson , at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, after the war had ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on 24 December 1814. The multiple failures and fiascos of the War of 1812 showed that thorough reform of the War Department was necessary. Secretary of War John C. Calhoun reorganized the department into a system of bureaus, whose chiefs held office for life, and

9870-611: The Tea Party protest of the Tea Act , a tax measure enacted by Parliament in May 1773. In Great Britain, these laws were referred to as the Coercive Acts . They were a key development leading to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in April 1775. Four acts were enacted by Parliament in early 1774 in direct response to the Boston Tea Party of 16 December 1773: Boston Port, Massachusetts Government, Impartial Administration of Justice, and Quartering Acts. The acts took away self-governance and rights that Massachusetts had enjoyed since its founding, triggering outrage and indignation in

10011-429: The Union armies enjoyed over the Confederates, who did not dare emulate the equivalent manpower source for fear of fundamentally undermining the legitimacy of slavery. Black Union soldiers were mostly used in garrison duty, but they fought in several battles, such as the Battle of the Crater (1864), and the Battle of Nashville (1865). There was bad blood between Confederates and black soldiers, with no quarter given by

10152-543: The Union forces typically had enough food, supplies, ammunition and weapons. The Union supply system, even as it penetrated deeper into the South, maintained its efficiency. The key leader was Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs . Union quartermasters were responsible for most of the $ 3 billion spent for the war. They operated out of sixteen major depots, which formed the basis of the system of procurement and supply throughout

10293-518: The Union in 1863. Increasingly, Confederate forces were outmatched by the more numerous and better equipped Union forces, whose greater population and economic resources became critical factors as the war became one of attrition. An increasingly effective naval blockade further damaged the Confederate war economy . By 1864, long-term Union advantages in geography, manpower, industry, finance, political organization and transportation were overwhelming

10434-991: The United States War Department in 1917 to fight in World War I . During World War II, the Army of the United States was formed as a successor to the National Army. The end of World War II set the stage for the ideological confrontation known as the Cold War . With the outbreak of the Korean War , concerns over the defense of Western Europe led to the establishment of NATO . During the Cold War, American troops and their allies fought communist forces in Korea and Vietnam (see containment ). The 1980s

10575-949: The United States expanded westward, it also aimed to expand into Florida, both as a means to protect its southern border as well as to cut off an escape route for runaway slaves. This campaign resulted in the Seminole Wars in Florida. The First Seminole War was from 1814 to 1819, the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842, and the Third Seminole War from 1855 to 1858. While the majority of the Seminole ended up moving west onto reservations, some remained in Florida . The U.S. used regular units and many volunteer units to fight Mexico, 1846–48. The American strategy

10716-589: The United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. Records of

10857-490: The Virginia militia, upon a frustrating and futile attempt to call up the militia to respond to a frontier Indian attack: ... he experienced all the evils of insubordination among the troops, perverseness in the militia, inactivity in the officers, disregard of orders, and reluctance in the civil authorities to render a proper support. And what added to his mortification was, that the laws gave him no power to correct these evils, either by enforcing discipline, or compelling

10998-605: The act (the Loudoun and Fairfax resolves ) was swift, and Richard Henry Lee of Virginia described the acts as "a most wicked System for destroying the liberty of America". The citizens of Boston viewed the Intolerable Acts as unnecessary and cruel punishment, further inflaming hatred toward Britain. Even more Bostonians turned against British rule. Great Britain hoped that the Intolerable Acts would isolate radicals in Massachusetts and cause American colonists to concede

11139-718: The age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively be enrolled in the militia, by the Captain or Commanding Officer of the company, within whose bounds such citizen shall reside, and that within twelve months after the passing of this Act. At the time of the drafting of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, a political sentiment existed in the newly formed United States involving suspicion of peacetime armies not under civilian control. This political belief has been identified as stemming from

11280-528: The army, coordination with the state governors and state militia units, relations with Congress and attention to supplies, logistics, intelligence, and training. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies. After victory had been achieved in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, proving his opposition to military dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism . The initial orders from Congress authorized ten companies of riflemen. However,

11421-480: The army; and representatives of civilian workers looking for higher pay at government factories. The complex system was closely monitored by congressmen anxious to ensure that their districts won their share of contracts. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, enabled both free blacks and escaped slaves, to join the Union Army . About 190,000 volunteered, further enhancing the numerical advantage

11562-478: The authority of Parliament over their elected assemblies. The calculated risk backfired: the harshness of some of the acts made it difficult for colonial moderates to speak in favor of Parliament. Instead, the acts only served to distance the colonies from the Crown, create sympathy for Massachusetts and encourage colonists from the otherwise diverse colonies to form committees of correspondence which sent delegates to

11703-614: The banks of the Ohio River near present-day Baden, Pennsylvania . The following Spring the newly named Legion of the United States left Legionville for the Northwest Indian War , a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy in the area south of the Ohio River . The overwhelmingly successful campaign was concluded with the decisive victory at Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794, Major General Anthony Wayne applied

11844-709: The battle in the open as they were undisciplined, untrained, and underfunded. For example, at the Battle of Bladensburg , the militia were set up in linear formation with little to no entrenchments and very little help from the Regular Army. Thus the Militia were routed easily and fled from the battlefield in large numbers, allowing the smaller British force to successfully raid and destroy the White House in Washington D.C. American militias were very effective when fighting in unconventional guerrilla warfare such as

11985-497: The calling of the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions." The Militia Act of 1792 clarified whom the militia consists of: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age of eighteen years, and under

12126-558: The colonies "in all cases whatsoever" in the Declaratory Act of 1766. Many colonists argued that under the unwritten British constitution , a British subject's property could not be taken from him (in the form of taxes) without his consent (in the form of representation in government). Therefore, because the colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, it followed that Parliament had no right to levy taxes upon them,

12267-610: The commanding general, the Secretary of War generally supported the bureaus. Congress regulated the affairs of the bureaus in detail, and their chiefs looked to that body for support. Calhoun set up the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1824, the main agency within the War Department for dealing with Native Americans until 1849, when the Congress transferred it to the newly founded Department of the Interior . Between 1815 and 1860,

12408-407: The companies into battalions, and chose the field-officers to command the same. Hence the minute-men became a body distinct from the rest of the militia, and, by being more devoted to military exercises, they acquired skill in the use of arms. More attention than formerly was likewise bestowed on the training and drilling of militia. The American Revolutionary War began near Boston, Massachusetts with

12549-556: The constitutional debate over the early drafts of the language of the Second Amendment included significant discussion of whether service in the militia should be compulsory for all able bodied men, or should there be an exemption for the "religiously scrupulous" conscientious objector. The concern about risks of a "religiously scrupulous" exemption clause within the second amendment to the Federal Constitution

12690-488: The defense of Hampton Village on June 25, 1813, where American militia conducted a few devastating ambushes, conducted harassing fire behind cover, and fought some hit-and-run engagements. Although the militia were routed and withdrew with 7 killed, 12 wounded, and 12 missing, the British suffered 120 killed and at least 95 wounded. American militia as horse-mounted raiders were very effective at conducting incursions or raids into British Canada. For instance, Duncan McArthur led

12831-518: The disbandment of the Continental Army and the creation of the Legion of the United States. The command would be based on the 18th-century military works of Henry Bouquet , a professional Swiss soldier who served as a colonel in the British Army , and French Marshal Maurice de Saxe . In 1792, Anthony Wayne , a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War, was encouraged to leave retirement and return to active service as Commander-in-Chief of

12972-407: The discharge of all remaining men except twenty-five caretakers at Fort Pitt and fifty-five at West Point. The next day it created a peace establishment acceptable to all interests. The plan required four states to raise 700 men for one year's service. Congress instructed the Secretary of War to form the troops into eight infantry and two artillery companies. Pennsylvania, with a quota of 260 men, had

13113-403: The discontinuation of the legion of the United States. In 1798, during the  Quasi-War  with France, the U.S. Congress established a three-year " Provisional Army " of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and six troops of light dragoons. The War of 1812 , the second and last American war against the British, was less successful than

13254-439: The eastern U.S. ending. Many states let their unorganized militia lapse in favor of volunteer militia units such as city guards who carried on in functions such as assisting local law enforcement, providing troops for ceremonies and parades or as a social club. The groups of company size were usually uniformed and armed through their own contributions. Volunteer units of sufficient size could elect their own officers and apply for

13395-701: The exception of the First American Regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point 's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Indians , it was soon realized that it was necessary to field a trained standing army. The first of these, the Legion of the United States , was established between June and November 1792 at Fort Lafayette, Pennsylvania , under Major Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne . The newly formed Legion moved in December 1792 to an encampment downriver on

13536-498: The failures of the militia in the War of 1812 , Madison came to favor the maintenance of a strong standing army . A major concern of the various delegates during the constitutional debates over the U.S. Constitution and the Second Amendment to the Constitution revolved around the issue of transferring militia power held by the states (under the existing Articles of Confederation ) to federal control. Congress shall have

13677-484: The fighting and nearly 10% died of disease; another 12% were wounded or discharged because of disease. At the outset of the American Civil War the regular U.S. army was small and generally assigned to defend the nation's frontiers from Indian attacks. As one after another Southern state seceded many experienced officers and men resigned or left to join the Confederate States Army , further limiting

13818-427: The following definition for "active militia" from an Illinois Supreme Court case of 1879: " 'a body of citizens trained to military duty, who may be called out in certain cases, but may not be kept on service like standing armies, in times of peace'. . . when not engaged at stated periods . . . they return to their usual avocations . . . and are subject to call when public exigencies demand it." The spelling millitia

13959-672: The hands of each state government . Today, as defined by the Militia Act of 1903 , the term "militia" is used to describe two classes within the United States: Since 1933, Congress has organized the National Guard under its power to "raise and support armies" and not its power to "Provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the Militia". Congress chose to do this in the interests of organizing reserve military units which were not limited in deployment by

14100-630: The hills. By far the most famous battle was the one-sided Indian victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn , in which combined Sioux and Cheyenne forces defeated the 7th Cavalry , led by General George Armstrong Custer . The West was largely pacified by 1890, apart from small Indian raids along the Mexican border. Combat in the Indian wars resulted in the deaths of about 4,340 people, including soldiers, civilians and Native Americans. In all

14241-541: The inability to train the whole Militia made select corps inevitable and, like Madison, paid it no concern. In 1794, a militia numbering approximately 13,000 was raised and personally led by President George Washington to quell the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania. From this experience, a major weakness of a States-based citizen militia system was found to be the lack of systematic army organization, and

14382-476: The indolent and refractory to their duty ... The militia system was suited for only to times of peace. It provided for calling out men to repel invasion; but the powers granted for effecting it were so limited, as to be almost inoperative. See New Hampshire Provincial Regiment for a history of a Provincial unit during the French and Indian War. Just prior to the American Revolutionary War , on October 26, 1774,

14523-582: The legislative fiat of Parliament. The Administration of Justice Act allowed the royal governor to order trials of accused royal officials to take place in Great Britain or elsewhere within the Empire if he decided that the defendant could not get a fair trial in Massachusetts. Although the act stipulated for witnesses to be reimbursed after having traveled at their own expense across the Atlantic, it

14664-408: The lenient provisions granted to their erstwhile enemies whom they had fought hard against during the French and Indian War . Many colonists saw the Intolerable Acts as a violation of their constitutional rights , their natural rights , and their colonial charters. They, therefore, viewed the acts as a threat to the liberties of all of British America, not just Massachusetts. Legislation denouncing

14805-400: The main role of the Army was control of Indians in the West, and manning coast artillery stations at major ports. Most of the forces were stationed on the frontier, or and coastal defense units near seaports. Transportation was a key issue and the Army (especially the Army Corps of Engineers ) was given full responsibility for facilitating navigation on the rivers. The steamboat, first used on

14946-601: The memory of the abuses of the standing army of Oliver Cromwell and King James II , in Great Britain in the prior century, which led to the Glorious Revolution and resulted in placing the standing army under the control of Parliament. During the Congressional debates, James Madison discussed how a militia could help defend liberty against tyranny and oppression. (Source I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789) However, during his presidency, after enduring

15087-474: The militia for national defense, versus a trained regular army was expressed by Gouverneur Morris : An overweening vanity leads the fond many, each man against the conviction of his own heart, to believe or affect to believe, that militia can beat veteran troops in the open field and even play of battle. This idle notion, fed by vaunting demagogues, alarmed us for our country, when in the course of that time and chance, which happen to all, she should be at war with

15228-643: The militia in public, but in correspondence with Congress expressed his opinion of the militia quite to the contrary: To place any dependence on the Militia, is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff. Men just dragged from the tender Scenes of domestic life; unaccustomed to the din of Arms; totally unacquainted with every kind of military skill, which being followed by a want of confidence in themselves, when opposed to Troops regularly trained, disciplined, and appointed, superior in knowledge and superior in Arms, makes them timid, and ready to fly from their own shadows ... if I

15369-416: The militia to form themselves into companies of minute-men , who should be equipped and prepared to march at the shortest notice. These minute-men were to consist of one quarter of the whole militia, to be enlisted under the direction of the field-officers, and divide into companies, consisting of at least fifty men each. The privates were to choose their captains and subalterns, and these officers were to form

15510-456: The militia, and local inhabitants tended to exaggerate the performance of the local militia versus the performance of the Continental Army. The Continental Army was seen as the protector of the States, though it also was viewed as a dominating force over the local communities. Joseph Reed , president of Pennsylvania viewed this jealousy between the militia forces and the standing army as similar to

15651-543: The naval engagement of the Plattsburgh battle, they continued to face heavy fire from the militia. Facing increased casualties, the British withdrew, making the Americans the victors. The American militia failed if they were poorly led, had bad logistics, were not trained properly or were misused. But they could be a potent force if there was a good competent leader, better logistics, used carefully, better trained, or

15792-589: The need for another bounty, sign up again in a different place. ... This practice was common enough to have its own technical term – "bounty jumping". The burden of waging war passed to a large extent to the standing army, the Continental Army . The stay-at-home militia tended then to perform the role of the internal police to keep order. British forces sought to disrupt American communities by instigating slave rebellions and Indian raids. The militia fended off these threats. Militias also spied on Loyalists in

15933-428: The old days, and had to be bribed with higher and higher bounties to join the effort – which is why Jefferson and Samuel Adams called them so expensive. As wartime inflation devalued the currency, other pledges had to be offered, including land grants and the promise of "a healthy slave" at the end of the war. Some men would take a bounty and not show up. Or they would show up for a while, desert, and then, when they felt

16074-678: The organization of the War Department . He enlarged West Point and established the U.S. Army War College , as well as the General Staff . He changed the procedures for promotions and organized schools for the special branches of the service. He also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line. General Samuel Baldwin Marks Young became the first chief of staff in 1903-1904. The headquarters moved to Fort Myer in 1908. According to Louis Cantor, Root designed

16215-682: The power ... to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of

16356-411: The power to nominate a lieutenant colonel, who would be the senior officer. New York and Connecticut each were to raise 165 men and nominate a major; the remaining 110 men came from New Jersey. The economy was the watchword of this proposal, for each major served as a company commander, and line officers performed all staff duties except those of chaplain, surgeon, and surgeon's mate. Under Josiah Harmar ,

16497-631: The prior frictions between the militia and the British Regular Army a generation before during the French and Indian War . Tensions came to a head at the end of the war when the Continental Army officers demanded pensions and set up the Society of the Cincinnati to honor their own wartime deeds. The local communities did not want to pay national taxes to cover the Army pensions, when the local militiamen received none. The delegates of

16638-434: The problem with key officers before submitting the army's official views on May 2. Significantly, there was a broad consensus on the basic framework among the officers. Washington's proposal called for four components: a small regular army, a uniformly trained and organized militia, a system of arsenals, and a military academy to train the army's artillery and engineer officers. He wanted four infantry regiments, each assigned to

16779-475: The programme in the House of Commons , saying: The Americans have tarred and feathered your subjects, plundered your merchants, burnt your ships, denied all obedience to your laws and authority; yet so clement and so long forbearing has our conduct been that it is incumbent on us now to take a different course. Whatever may be the consequences, we must risk something; if we do not, all is over. The Boston Port Act

16920-482: The regular army's abilities. The attack on Fort Sumter by South Carolina militia marked the beginning of hostilities. Both sides recruited large numbers of men into a new Volunteer Army , recruited and formed by the states. Regiments were recruited locally, with company officers elected by the men. Although many officers in the regular army accepted commissions in the new volunteer units outsiders were not usually welcome as officers, unless they were surgeons whose value

17061-473: The settlement that grew up there was the site of several significant treaties in 1818. After Wayne's death in 1796, command of the legion passed to Wayne's executive officer and commandant of Fort Washington, Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson . The Legion was renamed the United States Army. The Legion was recruited and raised in Pittsburgh . It was formed into four sub-legions. These were created from elements of

17202-543: The strictures of its power over the constitutional militia, which can be called forth only "to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions." Most modern organizations calling themselves militias are illegal private paramilitary organizations without the official sanctioning of a state government. The term "militia" derives from Old English milite meaning soldiers (plural), militisc meaning military and also classical Latin milit-, miles meaning soldier. The Modern English term militia dates to

17343-419: The subsequent actions taken in 1861 were skirmishes between pro-Union and pro-Confederacy irregular forces in border states like Missouri and Kentucky. In 1862 the war became much more bloody, though neither side was able to gain a lasting strategic advantage over the other. However, the decisive battles of Gettysburg in the east and Vicksburg in the west allowed the momentum of the war to shift in favor of

17484-752: The surrender of the last Comanche war chief, Quanah Parker , in June 1875. In June 1877, in the Nez Perce War the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph , unwilling to give up their traditional lands and move to a reservation, undertook a 1,200 mile fighting retreat from Oregon to near the Canada–US border in Montana . Numbering only 200 warriors, the Nez Perce battled some 2,000 American regulars and volunteers in

17625-474: The techniques of wilderness operations perfected by Sullivan's 1779 expedition against the Iroquois. The training the troops received at Legionville was also seen as instrumental to this overwhelming victory. Nevertheless, Steuben's Blue Book remained the official manual for the legion, as well as for the militia of most states, until Winfield Scott in 1835. In 1796, the United States Army was raised following

17766-674: The territory of the Province of Quebec into the Great Lakes region and much of what is now the Midwestern United States , which appeared to void the land claims of the Ohio Company on the region. The guarantee of free practice of Catholicism, the majority religion in Canada, was seen by colonists as an "establishment" of the faith in the colonies which were overwhelmingly Protestant. Furthermore, colonists resented

17907-555: The war. As the war expanded, operation of these depots became much more complex, with an overlapping and interweaving relationship between the Army and government operated factories, private factories, and numerous middlemen. The purchase of goods and services through contracts supervised by the quartermasters accounted for most of federal military expenditures, apart from the wages of the soldiers. The quartermasters supervised their own soldiers, and cooperated closely with state officials, manufacturers and wholesalers trying to sell directly to

18048-476: The war. Sometimes, the militia units operated independently of the Continental Army, but often local militias were called out to support and augment the Continental Army regulars during campaigns. (The militia troops developed a reputation for being prone to premature retreats, a fact that was integrated into the strategy at the Battle of Cowpens .) In 1783, at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War,

18189-432: The year 1590, with the original meaning now obsolete: "the body of soldiers in the service of a sovereign or a state". Subsequently, since approximately 1665, militia has taken the meaning "a military force raised from the civilian population of a country or region, especially to supplement a regular army in an emergency, frequently as distinguished from mercenaries or professional soldiers". The U.S. Supreme Court adopted

18330-609: Was added a small tax. This angered the colonists. News of the Boston Tea Party reached England in January 1774. Parliament responded by passing four laws. Three of the laws were intended to directly punish Massachusetts. This was for the destruction of private property, to restore British authority in Massachusetts, and to otherwise reform colonial government in America. On 22 April 1774, Prime Minister Lord North defended

18471-411: Was called upon to declare upon Oath, whether the Militia have been most serviceable or hurtful upon the whole, I should subscribe to the latter. At the end of the Revolutionary War, a political atmosphere developed at the local level where the militia was seen with fondness, despite their spotty record on the battlefield. Typically, when the militia did act well was when the battle came into the locale of

18612-400: Was expressed by Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts (from 1 Annals of Congress at 750, 17 August 1789): Now, I am apprehensive, sir, that this clause would give an opportunity to the people in power to destroy the constitution itself. They can declare who are those religiously scrupulous, and prevent them from bearing arms. What, sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of

18753-506: Was in the chair of government, I omitted no proper opportunity of recommending it in my public speeches, and otherwise to the attention of the legislature." In 1802, the federal military academy at West Point was established, in part to rectify the failings of irregular training inherent in a States-based militia system. In the War of 1812 , the United States Militia were at times routed if they fought conventionally on

18894-687: Was made towards embodying a regular army". In 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation , which contained a provision for raising a confederal militia that consent would be required from nine of the 13 States. Article VI of the Articles of Confederation states, ... every State shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores,

19035-464: Was mostly a decade of reorganization. The Army converted to an all-volunteer force with greater emphasis on training and technology. By 1989, the Cold War was nearing its conclusion. The Army leadership reacted by starting to plan for a reduction in strength. After Desert Storm , the Army did not see major combat operations for the remainder of the 1990s. After the September 11 attacks , and as part of

19176-402: Was not stipulated that this would include reimbursement for lost earnings during the period for which they would be unable to work, leaving few with the ability to testify. George Washington called this the "Murder Act" because he believed that it allowed officials to harass colonists and then escape justice. Many colonists believed the act was unnecessary because British soldiers had been given

19317-401: Was obvious. Colonels – often local politicians who helped raise the troops – were appointed by the governors, and generals were appointed by President Abraham Lincoln . The Volunteer Army was so much larger than the Regular Army that entirely new units above the regimental level had to be formed. The grand plan involved geographical theaters, with armies (named after rivers such as the Army of

19458-467: Was the United States' first attempt at modernizing the division concept. Major General Leonard Wood , then Army Chief of Staff , mobilized the division primarily to demonstrate to Congress that the United States was not adequately prepared for modern warfare. The division was disbanded on 7 August 1911. Militia (United States)#History The militia of the United States , as defined by

19599-564: Was the first of the laws passed in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party. It closed the port of Boston until the colonists paid for the destroyed tea and the king was satisfied that order had been restored. Colonists objected that the Port Act punished all of Boston rather than just the individuals who had destroyed the tea, and that they were being punished without having been given an opportunity to testify in their own defense. The Massachusetts Government Act provoked even more outrage than

19740-417: Was threefold: to take control of the Southwest (New Mexico and California); to invade Mexico from the North under general Zachary Taylor . Finally to land troops and capture Mexico City with an army under General Winfield Scott . All the operations were successful; the Americans won all the major battles. The army expanded from 6,000 regulars to more than 115,000. Of these, approximately 1.5% were killed in

19881-428: Was ultimately stricken from the final draft of second amendment to the Federal Constitution though the militia clause was retained. The Supreme Court of the United States has upheld a right to conscientious objection to military service. William S. Fields and David T. Hardy write: While in The Federalist No. 46, Madison argued that a standing army of 25,000 to 30,000 men would be offset by "a militia amounting to near

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