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Militias in America: Past Present and Future
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This is the first segment in a two part series that will discuss the history and evolution of American Militias.
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By definition, a militia is a paramilitary group composed of ordinary citizens that gather and train in tactics of fighting, survival and law enforcement, without pay, for the purpose of defending their community and their country in times of emergencies.
Militia groups with complaints against the government are regrouping across the United States and are grow rapidly, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization which tracks such trends. Since the inauguration of President Obama, a record number of guns and ammunition have been sold across the United States to Americans who are stockpiling for what many perceive as being an inevitable showdown between Government forces and American citizens who believe that their “freedoms” are being taken away from them.
The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a Black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration.
The Revolutionary War American Militia
The history of militia in the United States originated from our colonial era, before the American Revolutionary War. Patterned after the British system, colonial militias were manned by adult male citizens of a community, town, or local region. Due to the fact that there were usually few British regulars garrisoned in North America, colonial militia served a vital role in local conflicts, particularly in the French and Indian Wars.
Shortly before shooting began in the American War of Independence, American revolutionaries took control of the militia system, reinvigorating training and excluding men with Loyalist inclinations.
Regulation of the militia was codified by the Second Continental Congress with the Articles of Confederation. The revolutionaries also created a full-time regular army—the Continental Army—but because of manpower shortages the militia provided short-term support to the regulars in the field throughout the war.
During America’s fight for Independence from the British Crown, militia service was distinguished from regular military service in that the latter was normally a commitment for a fixed period of time of at least a year, for a salary, whereas militia was only to meet a threat, or prepare to meet a threat, for periods of time expected to be short. Militia persons were normally expected to provide their own weapons, equipment, or supplies, although they may later be compensated for losses or expenditures.
The Militia after the American Revolution War
During the nineteenth century, each of the states maintained its militia differently, some more than others. Prior to the Civil War, militia units were sometimes used by southern states for slave control. In Free States, Republican militias - called "Wide Awakes" - sided with abolitionists in sometimes violent confrontations with Federal authorities.
During Reconstruction after the Civil War, Republican state governments had militias composed almost entirely of freed slaves and populist whites. Their deployment to maintain order in the former Confederate States caused increased resentment among many Southern whites. The war did not end with Lee's surrender at Appomattox and continued to be fought by insurgent groups throughout America’s Reconstruction era.
Secret white terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and Knights of the White Camellia arose quickly in states across the South, reaching a peak in the late 1860s. Even more significant in terms of effect were private militias, paramilitary organizations that formed starting in 1874, including the White League in Louisiana, which quickly formed chapters in other states; the Red Shirts in Mississippi in 1875, and with force in South Carolina and North Carolina; as well as other "White Line" militias and rifle clubs. In contrast to the KKK, they were open, members were often well-known in the communities, and they directed their efforts at political aims: using force, intimidation and violence, including murder, to push out Republican officeholders, break up organizing, and suppress freedmen's voting and civil rights. The paramilitary groups were described as "the military arm of the Democratic Party" and were instrumental in helping secure Democratic victories in the South in the elections of 1876.
What is the future of American Militias?
Since both men and women are afforded the opportunity of serving their country by enlisting in America’s armed forces, including the Reserves and the National Guard, the question that is posed is, “why do we still need militias?” Are militias still relevant to America’s security, a paramilitary organization which was born from an era when we didn’t have enough troops and sailors to protect our citizens, or have they become training camps for separatists who await an American helter skelter?
Part two of this series on “Militias in America” will highlight local known militias who train as did the old “Minute Men” of centuries past for what they consider to be “American Freedoms”.
As always Louisianans, The Examiner.Com is interested in what you think. Are militias a necessary extension of American freedoms? Have militias time as a paramilitary organization exceeded their relevance? And is there a dark and ominous shadow that looms over some militia in America that perverts the meaning of faithful citizen? Inquiring minds want to know. Sound off.
Until the next time Louisianans, Good Day, God Bless and Good Fishing.
http://http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=392
http://mediafilter.org/caq/caq.militia.html
http://http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8307935
Militias in America
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