Militia

A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. The word can have four slightly different meanings:

United States

The early Puritan colonists of America considered the militia an important social structure, necessary to defend their colonies from Indian attacks. All able-bodied (white) males were expected to be members of the town militia.

Related Topics:
Puritan - Indian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the American Revolutionary War, colonial militiamen or armed citizens agreed to turn out for service at a minute's notice. The term minutemen is used especially for the men who were enrolled (1774) for such service by the Massachusetts provincial congress. These were also known as the "valiant farmers" who fought against the British at Lexington and Concord.

Related Topics:
American Revolutionary War - Service - Minutemen - 1774 - Massachusetts - Congress - Valiant - Fought - British - Lexington - Concord

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The delegates of the Constitutional Convention, (the founding fathers/framers of the United States Constitution) under Article 1; section 8, paragraphs 15 and 16 of the federal constitution, granted Congress the power to "provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining (regulating/training) the Militia," as well as, and in distinction to, the power to raise an army and a navy. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was intended to formalize this balance between the "well-regulated" militia and organized military forces. The militia act of 1792 clarified whom the militia consists of; " I. 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 the age of forty-five years" In contrast the United States National Guard, created by the Militia Act of 1903, was a federalized portion of the State militias which were converted into regular troops kept in reserve for the United States Army. The Defense Act of 1916 placed all state militia units under the National Guard. This act was later amended in 1933 under the National Guard Mobilization Act, to place all National Guard units under the control of the United States Army effectively ending their status as "militia" under Article 1, section 8, paragraphs 15,16, of the Federal Constitution and the second amendment of the Federal Constitution.

Related Topics:
United States Constitution - Second Amendment to the United States Constitution - United States National Guard - Militia Act of 1903

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The current United States Code, Title 10 (Armed forces), section 311 (Militia: Composition and Classes), paragraph (a) states "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard." Section 313 of Title 32 refers to persons with prior military experience who could serve as officers. These persons remain members of the militia until age 65. Paragraph (b) further states, "The classes of the militia are: (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia."http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+10USC311.

Related Topics:
United States Code - National Guard

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The National Guard is the largest of the organized federal reserve military forces in the United States. The National Guard is classified (under title 10, see above) as the organized federal militia as it is under both federal and state control, and both the President of the United States and state governors can call upon it. Since the 2003 Invasion of Iraq many National Guard units have served overseas (under the Total Force Policy of 1973 which effectively combined the National Guard with the armed forces making them regular troops.) This can lead to problems for states that also face internal emergencies while the Guard is deployed overseas. To address such issues, many of the states, such as New York and Maryland also have organized state "militia" forces or State Guards which are under the control of the governor of a state, however many of these "militia" also act as a reserve for the National Guard and are thus a part of it (varies from state to state depending on individual state statutory laws). New York and Ohio also have active naval militias, and a few other states have on-call or proposed ones. In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Perpich v. Department of Defense that the Federal government has plenary power over the National Guard, and greatly reduced (to the point of nonexistence) the state government's ability to withhold consent to Federal deployments and training missions of the National Guard.http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=496&invol=334

Related Topics:
President of the United States - State governor - 2003 Invasion of Iraq - New York - Maryland - State Guards - Naval militia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During some wars, both the suitability and effectiveness of the National Guard have been questioned, because of perceptions that personnel are often hastily, or not fully, trained for the roles they are asked to perform. For many decades, there were persistent allegations of nepotism, favoritism and/or the use of influence in the commissioning and assignment of officers. (See, for example, George W. Bush military service controversy.)

Related Topics:
Nepotism - George W. Bush military service controversy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Numerous states have their own Guard units separate from the National Guard; some authorized by the states themselves, like the Alabama State Defense Force, others simply are acknowledged by the state as their official State Guard. These units have no affiliation with the National Guard.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(For information on organized private citizen militias not authorized by the Federal or state governments, see US private militias, below.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~