Reply #45: Some background on the Militia and National Guard [View All]

This is part of a paper I was working on regarding Gun Control and in it I had to more fully understand how the Militia deteriorated and how it was replaced by the National Guard (The the way Natasha, I am E-mailing the whole paper to you including the various citation I have been using)

To understand the relationship between the "Militia" the "State Guard" and the "National Guard" you must first understand how the Militia developed (or more accurately declined) from the "Militia Act of 1792" to the "National Guard Act of 1903".

With the end of the Indian threat with the Death of Tecumseh in 1814, the Militia formed under the Militia Act of 1792 went into a slow deterioration north of the Mason Dixon Line (We will address the Militia of the South from 1815 till 1865 separately) . In this time period (1815-1860) most Northern States kept dropping the fine for not attending drills to discourage attendance to Militia Drills (the states rather have the money from the fine rather than see the Militia drill).

Most Northern States eventually adopted a zero (0) fine and replaced it with a head tax (some people would STILL show up for drill duty rather than pay the fine no matter HOW low the fine was). By the time of the Civil War the Militia of the US was a dead and empty idea. No one had tried to keep it alive.

Thus by 1860 the Militia north of the Mason and Dixon line was dead for all practical purposes, much like it is dead today (Through the Militia Act of 1792 was still on the Books and would remain on the books till long after the passage of the "National Guard Act of 1903". In fact the Militia referred to in the Militia Act of 1792 is still in the Statute Books in the above state statute and Federal statutes).

In the South the Militia was tied in with the Sheriff