since9
Campaign Veteran
In my travels through the founding documents, I've come across three distinct uses of the term "militia."
The first is as used in our Constitution and Amendments:
1. The armed people mentioned four times in the U.S. Constitution as separate from the Army and Navy.
Article 1 Section 8 Clauses 15 and 16:
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
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;
Article II Section 2 Clause 1:
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States
Amendment II:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment V:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger
The second comes from the Militia Act of 1903, which breaks it down into two categories:
Organized militia – consisting of State militia forces; notably, the National Guard and Naval Militia.[8] (Note: the National Guard is not to be confused with the National Guard of the United States.)
Unorganized militia – composing the Reserve Militia: every able-bodied man of at least 17 and under 45 years of age, not a member of the National Guard or Naval Militia
The third comes from the writings of our Founding Fathers, where it's definition varies depending on who's doing the writing. This link, for example, mentions "militia" some 58 times.
Boiling it all down, I find three things:
1. The militia was never considered to be synonymous with either the Navy or the Army (or in more modern times, Coast Guard, Air Force, and soon to be Space Force).
2. Formal state militias are certainly consistent with the Constitutional definition.
3. Many considered "every able-bodied man" and some even "man, woman, and child" to be a part of the militia.
I suppose a most interesting question might be, "Do you consider yourself a part of the militia, and if so, of which part and in what capacity?"
The first is as used in our Constitution and Amendments:
1. The armed people mentioned four times in the U.S. Constitution as separate from the Army and Navy.
Article 1 Section 8 Clauses 15 and 16:
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
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;
Article II Section 2 Clause 1:
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States
Amendment II:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment V:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger
The second comes from the Militia Act of 1903, which breaks it down into two categories:
Organized militia – consisting of State militia forces; notably, the National Guard and Naval Militia.[8] (Note: the National Guard is not to be confused with the National Guard of the United States.)
Unorganized militia – composing the Reserve Militia: every able-bodied man of at least 17 and under 45 years of age, not a member of the National Guard or Naval Militia
The third comes from the writings of our Founding Fathers, where it's definition varies depending on who's doing the writing. This link, for example, mentions "militia" some 58 times.
Boiling it all down, I find three things:
1. The militia was never considered to be synonymous with either the Navy or the Army (or in more modern times, Coast Guard, Air Force, and soon to be Space Force).
2. Formal state militias are certainly consistent with the Constitutional definition.
3. Many considered "every able-bodied man" and some even "man, woman, and child" to be a part of the militia.
I suppose a most interesting question might be, "Do you consider yourself a part of the militia, and if so, of which part and in what capacity?"