There were two Militia Acts enacted by the second United States Congress in 1792 that provided for the organization of militias and empowered the President of the United States to take command of the state militias in times of imminent invasion or insurrection. The Act had a life of two years, and was invoked to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. In 1795, Congress enacted another Militia Act which mirrored the provisions of the 1792 Acts, except that the President’s authority to call forth state militias was made permanent.

History

It was understood at the time that the President did not have the power under the Constitution on his own authority to call forth the militia, and required statutory authorisation by Congress to do so.

The Militia Acts were passed in response to the enormous losses suffered by general Arthur St. Clair at the Battle of the Wabash in 1791.[1] There was a widespread fear that the Western Confederacy of American Indians would exploit their victory during the recess of Congress. St. Clair's defeat was blamed in part on the poor organization and equipment of his army.[2]

First Militia Act of 1792

The first Militia Act, passed May 2, 1792,[3] provided authority to the President to call out the militias of the several states, "whenever the United States shall be invaded, or be in imminent danger of invasion from any foreign nation or Indian tribe".[4] The Act also authorized the President to call the militias into federal service "whenever the laws of the United States shall be opposed or the execution thereof obstructed, in any state, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by this act".[5] This provision likely referred to uprisings such as Shays' Rebellion. The president's authority in both cases was to expire after two years.

Second Militia Act of 1792

Front page of a newspaper announcing the second Militia Act of 1792.

The second Militia Act of 1792 was passed on May 8, 1792, and provided for the organization of state militias and the conscription of persons:

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 (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.

Militia members were required "... within six months thereafter, provide himself..." with a musket, bayonet and belt, two spare flints, a box able to contain not less than 24 suitable cartridges, and a knapsack. Alternatively, everyone enrolled was to provide himself with a rifle, a powder horn, ¼ pound of gunpowder, 20 rifle balls, a shot-pouch, and a knapsack.[6] Some occupations were exempt, such as congressmen, stagecoach drivers and ferryboatmen.

The militias were divided into "divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, and companies" as the state legislatures would direct.[7] The provisions of the first Act governing the calling up of the militia by the president in case of invasion or obstruction to law enforcement were continued in the second act.[8] Court martial proceedings were authorized by the statute against militia members who disobeyed orders.[9]

The conscripted of every "free able-bodied white male citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45 into a local militia company was expanded by the Militia Act of 1862, enacted during the Civil War, to apply to all males, regardless of race, between the ages of 18 and 54.

Use and subsequent amendments

George Washington was the first president to call forth the militia in 1794 (just before the 1792 act expired) to put down the Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania. Congress passed the Militia Act of 1795, which by and large mirrored the provisions of the 1792 Act, but made the president’s authority to call forth the militias permanent.

The Militia Act of 1808 provided funding for arms and equipment to state militias. The Militia Act of 1795 was in turn amended by the Militia Act of 1862, which allowed African-Americans to serve in the militias. It was superseded by the Militia Act of 1903, which established the United States National Guard as the chief body of organized military reserves in the United States.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Schecter, Barnet (2010). George Washington's America. A Biography Through His Maps. New York: Walker & Company. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-8027-1748-1.
  2. ^ "Samuel Hodgdon, 5th Quartermaster General". Fort Lee, Virginia: US Army Quartermaster Foundation. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  3. ^ First Militia Act of 1792
  4. ^ Militia Act of 1792, May 2, 1792, art. I, ss. 1
  5. ^ Militia Act of 1792, May 2, 1792, art. I, ss. 2
  6. ^ https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=003/llac003.db&recNum=691
  7. ^ Militia Act of 1792, May 8, 1792, art. I, ss. 1(iii)3
  8. ^ Militia Act of 1792, May 8, 1792, art. I, ss. 3
  9. ^ Militia Act of 1792, May 2, 1792, art. I, ss. 5
  10. ^ Michael Dale Doubler, John W. Listman, Jr., The National Guard: An Illustrated History of America's Citizen-Soldiers, Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, Inc., 2003, ISBN 978-1-57488-389-3, page 53.

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