It was the late 1800's, and despite the use of Regular troops in notable
instances, the organized militia under state control saw more strike
duty than the Regulars in the years after the Civil War. The volunteer
militia organizations that had existed since the colonial period became,
in effect, the only real militia in existence in those years. The events
of the 1870's in particular led many persons to fear another
insurrection, and as a result legislation was introduced to improve and
to provide better arms for the organized militia. In 1879, in support of
this effort, the National Guard Association came into being in St.
Louis, and between 1881 and 1892 every state revised its military code
to provide for an organized militia, which most states, following the
lead of New York, called the National Guard. As such, it was by 1898 the
principal reserve standing behind the Regular Army.
There was a certain martial enthusiasm in
the 1880's and 1890's, despite the general antimilitarism of the period,
that swelled the ranks of the Guard. Also, the Guard attracted some
persons because it was a fraternal group that appealed to the manly
virtues of physical fitness, duty, and discipline; and it attracted many
because it was a kind of social club whose members enjoyed a local
prestige. Although organized by states, the Guard had roots in the new
nationalism of the period, as may be seen in its very name. Despite this
new proposal for a new militia act, apathy, states' rights, and
antimilitarism prevented Congress from enacting the desired legislation.
Through the efforts of the National Guard Association, the Guard
nevertheless succeeded in securing an act in 1887 that doubled the
$200,000 annual federal grant for firearms that the militia had enjoyed
since 1808. |
