Militia

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Militia

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Bible

The word “militia” is not found in the KJV. It is found in the following version:

God’s Word, God's Word to the Nations Bible Society, 1995
2 Kings 25:19 - From the city he also took an army commander, 5 men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and 60 of the common people whom he found in the city.
Jeremiah 52:25 - From the city he also took an army commander, 7 men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and 60 common people whom he found in the city.
Dictionary

Anti-Thought-Control Dictionary created by American Christian Ministries
MILITIA

POPULAR MEANING: A free armed force comprised of private citizens.

ACTUAL MEANING: Originally, "militia" simply meant "a system or organization of military discipline." The term dates back to 1590 and derives from the Latin 'milit" which meant "soldier." Inherently, "militia" connotes no distinction between either a private army or a government army. That distinction may be determined only by the context of its usage.

For instance, to know what the term "militia" meant in the Second Amendment to the Constitution ("A well regulated Militia, ... etc.) one must refer back to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution which identifies it as "... the Militia of the several States" indicating a militia organized by state government over which, along with the Army and Navy, the President was Commander in Chief.

The point is that the term "militia" is a government term — especially when used in the context of the Constitution or constitutional dictionaries. It neither confers, nor recognizes, private rights or powers of people to be armed for defense or warfare. Neither are your rights to own and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment unless you are in a government militia. The freedom to bear arms can NOT be granted by government. In fact, freedom of any sort cannot be granted. Power to "grant" is power to control, which precludes freedom. Freedom is available only to private individuals who are willing and able to claim it and defend it.
Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
MILI'TIA, noun [Latin from miles, a soldier; Gr. war, to fight, combat, contention. The primary sense of fighting is to strive, struggle, drive, or to strike, to beat, Eng. moil, Latin molior; Heb. to labor or toil.] The body of soldiers in a state enrolled for discipline, but not engaged in actual service except in emergencies; as distinguished from regular troops, whose sole occupation is war or military service. The militia of a country are the able bodied men organized into companies, regiments and brigades, with officers of all grades, and required by law to attend military exercises on certain days only, but at other times left to pursue their usual occupations.
Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, 1856
MILITIA.

1. The military force of the nation, consisting of citizens called forth to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection and repel invasion.
2. The Constitution of the United States provides on this subject as follows: Art. 1, s. 8, 14. Congress shall have power to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.
3. 15. 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.
4. Under the clauses of the constitution, the following points have been decided.
1. If congress had chosen, they might by law, have considered a militia man, called into the service ot the United States, as being, from the time of such call, constructively in that service, though not actually so, although he should not appear at the place of rendezvous. But they have not so considered him, in the acts of congress, till after his appearance at the place of rendezvous: previous to that, a fine was to be paid for the delinquency in not obeying the call, which fine was deemed an equivalent for his services, and an atonement for disobedience.
5. 2. The militia belong to the states respectively, and are subject, both in their civil and military capacities, to the jurisdiction and laws of the state, except so far as these laws are controlled by acts of congress, constitutionally made.
6. 3. It is presumable the framers of the constitution contemplated a full exercise of all the powers of organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia; nevertheless, if congress had declined to exercise them, it was competent to the state governments respectively to do it. But congress has ex ecuted these powers as fully as was thought right, and covered the whole ground of their legislation by different laws, notwithstanding important provisions may have been omitted, or those enacted might be beneficially altered or enlarged.
7. 4. After this, the states cannot enact or enforce laws on the same subject. For although their laws may not be directly repugnant to those of congress, yet congress, having exercised their will upon the subject, the states cannot legislate upon it. If the law of the latter be the same, it is inoperative: if they differ, they must, in the nature of things, oppose each other, so far as they differ.
8. 5. Thus if an act of congress imposes a fine, and a state law fine and imprisonment for the same offence, though the latter is not repugnant, inasmuch as it agrees with the act of the congress, so far as the latter goes, and add another punishment, yet the wills of the two legislating powers in relation to the subject are different, and cannot subsist harmoniously together.
9. 6. The same legislating power may impose cumulative punishments; but not different legislating powers.
10. 7. Therefore, where the state governments have, by the constitution, a concurrent power with the national government, the former cannot legislate on any subject on which congress has acted, although the two laws are not in terms contradictory and repugnant to each other.
11. 8. Where congress prescribed the punishment to be inflicted on a militia man, detached and called forth, but refusing to march, and also provided that courts martial for the trial of such delinquent's, to be composed of militia officers only, should be held and conducted in the manner pointed out by the rules and articles of war, and a state had passed a law enacting the penalties on such delinquents which the act of congress prescribed, and directing lists of the delinquents to be furnished to the comptroller of the United States and marshal, that further proceeding might take place according to the act of congress, and providing for their trial by state courts martial, such state courts martial have jurisdiction. Congress might have vested exclusive jurisdiction in courts martial to be held according to their laws, but not having done so expressly, their jurisdiction is not exclusive.
12. 9. Although congress have exercised the whole power of calling out the militia, yet they are not national militia, till employed in actual service; and they are not employed in actual service, till they arrive at the place of rendezvous. 5 Wheat. 1; Vide 1 Kent's Com. 262; 3 Story, Const. §1194 to 1210.
13. The acts of the national legislature which regulate the militia are the following, namely: Act of May 8, 1792, 1 Story, L. U. S. 252; Act of February 28, 1795, 1 Story, L. U. S. 390; Act of March 2, 1803, 2 Story, L. U. S. 888; Act of April 10, 1806, Story, L. U. S. 1005; Act of April 20, 1816, 3 Story, L. U. S. 1573; Act of May 12, 1820, 3 Story, L. U. S. 1786 Act of March 2, 1821, 3 Story; L. U. S. 1811.
Black’s Law Dictionary, 1st Edition, 1891, 2nd Edition, 1910
MILITIA.

The body of soldiers in a state enrolled for discipline, but not engaged in actual service except in emergencies, as distinguished from regular troops or a standing army.
The Century Dictionary, an Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, 1895
militia (mi-lish'a), n. [Formerly malice, < F. milice = Sp. Pg. milicia = It. milizia, < L. militia, military service, the soldiery, < miles (milit-), a soldier.]

1. Military service; warfare.
2. Soldiery; militants collectively. [Rare.]
Hence— 3. The whole body of men declared by law amenable to military ser\nee, without enlistment, whether armed and drilled or not. [U.S.]
4. A body of men enrolled and drilled according to military law, as an armed force, but not as regular soldiers, and called out in emergency for actual service and periodically for drill and exercise. The feudal array of the middle ages was properly a militia, and the first proceeding of modern warfare consisted in the gradual adoption of permanent and regular troops, which superseded the militia.
Judicial and Statutory Definitions of Words And Phrases, Collected, Edited, and Compiled by Members of the Editorial Staff of the National Reporter System, Volume 5, 1904
MILITIA.

Army distinguished, see “Army”.

“Militia,” as used in Const. art. 1§ 8, cls. 15, 16, giving the Confederate government the right to call forth the militia to execute the laws of the Confederate States, etc., does not mean that body of men organized under state authority who are known as “state militia,” but signifies that portion of the people who are capable of bearing arms —the arms-bearing population. Ex parte McCants, 39 Ala. 107, 112; In re Strawbridge, 39 Ala. 367, 375.

The “militia” are composed of men of military age, whereas the “posse comitatus” is composed of able-bodied persons of sound mind and of sufficient ability to assist the sheriff, and may be younger or older than the military age. The militia, when called out, retains its own officers and organization, and is commanded by and acts under its own officers. When the posse comitatus is called out by the sheriff, he is its head and commander, and it acts under his authority. Worth v. Craven County Com'rs, 24 8. E. 778, 779, 118 N. C. 112.

The term “militia,” in the New Jersey act of May 11, 1861, entitled “An act for the relief of such portion of the militia as may be called into service,” is not confined to such persons as, previous to the call of the President for troops, belonged to the organized militia, but applies to all persons by law liable to military duty, and all accepted by the state as such, whether previously resident there or not. Brown v. City of Newark, 29 N. J. Law (5 Dutch.) 232, 238.
Ballentine’s Law Dictionary, James A. Ballentine, Third Edition, 1969
militia.
A body of armed citizens trained to military duty, who may be called out in certain cases, but may not be kept in service, like standing armies, in time of peace. 36 Am J1st Mi § 42.
See active militia: National Guard: state militia.
National Guard.
An organization of armed men, created and maintained under the United States Constitution, the federal statutes, and state constitutions and state statutes. 36 Am J1st Mil § 42. A primary reserve of the United States Army and Air Force, serving the states in disasters and civil disturbances, and subject to call to service of the United States in time of war or in anticipation of war. While enrolled as soldiers of the state, the active militia or national guard, are neither ‘“troops,’ nor a ‘standing army.’” State ex rel. Madigan v Wagener. 74 Minn 518, 77 NW 424.
active militia.
An organization of armed men from the body of the militia, engaging at stated periods in military drill or other military exercises, returning to their usual vocations after such drilling and exercising, but subject to call when public exigencies demand their services. 36 Am J1st Mil § 42.
state militia.
An organization comprised of men who come from the body of the citizens, and when not engaged at stated periods in drilling, and other exercises, they return to their usual vocations, as is usual with militia, and are subject to call when the public exigencies demand it. 36 Am J1st Mil § 42.
Black’s Law Dictionary, 4th Edition, 1968 and 5th Edition, 1979
MILITIA.

The body of citizens in a state, enrolled for discipline as a military force, but not engaged in actual service except in emergencies, as distinguished from regular troops or a standing army. Ex parte McCants, 39 Ala. 112; Worth v. Craven County, 118 N.C. 112, 24 S.E. 778; Story v. Perkins, D.C.Ga., 243 F. 997, 999.
MILITIAMEN.

Comprehends every temporary citizen-soldier who in time of war or emergency enters active military service of the country. Critchlow v. Monson, 102 Utah 378, 131 P.2d 794, 798.
United States Government Compendium of Interagency and Associated Terms, 2017
militia extremist –

group or person who facilitate or engage in acts of unlawful violence directed at federal, state, or local government officials or infrastructure in response to their belief that the government deliberately is stripping Americans of their freedoms and is attempting to establish a totalitarian regime consequently oppose many federal and state authorities’ laws and regulations, (particularly those related to firearms ownership), and often belong to armed paramilitary groups.
Quotes

George Washington -
The militia of the country must be considered the palladium of our security, and the first effectual resort in case of hostility; it is essential therefore, that the same system should pervade the whole; that the formation and discipline of the Militia of the Continent should be absolutely uniform, and that the same species of Arms, Accoutrements, and Military Apparatus, should be introduced in every part of the United States; No one, who has not learned it from experience, can conceive the difficulty, expense, and confusion which result from a contrary system, or the vague Arrangements which have hitherto prevailed.
Thomas Jefferson –
For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well organized and armed militia is their best security.
Samuel Adams -
It is always dangerous to the liberties of the people to have an army stationed among them, over which they have no control ... The Militia is composed of free Citizens. There is therefore no danger of their making use of their Power to the destruction of their own Rights, or suffering others to invade them.
Richard Henry Lee -
A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves and include all men capable of bearing arms.


George Mason -
I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.
Steven P. Halbrook -
In recent years it has been suggested that the Second Amendment protects the "collective" right of states to maintain militias, while it does not protect the right of "the people" to keep and bear arms. If anyone entertained this notion in the period during which the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were debated and ratified, it remains one of the most closely guarded secrets of the eighteenth century, for no known writing surviving from the period between 1787 and 1791 states such a thesis.
Thomas Cooley -
The right is general. It may be supposed from the phraseology of this provision that the right to keep and bear arms was only guaranteed to the militia; but this would be an interpretation not warranted by the intent. The militia, as has been explained elsewhere, consists of those persons who, under the law, are liable to the performance of military duty, and are officered and enrolled for service when called upon. . . . If the right were limited to those enrolled, the purpose of the guarantee might be defeated altogether by the action or the neglect to act of the government it was meant to hold in check. The meaning of the provision undoubtedly is, that the people, from whom the militia must be taken, shall have the right to keep and bear arms, and they need no permission or regulation of law for that purpose.
Tench Coxe -
The militia of these free commonwealths, entitled and accustomed to their arms, when compared with any possible army, must be tremendous and irresistible. Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American ... the unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.
The militia, who are in fact the effective part of the people at large, will render many troops quite unnecessary. They will form a powerful check upon the regular troops, and will generally be sufficient to over-awe them.
Elbridge Gerry -
What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. ...Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.
Patrick Henry -
Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defence, the militia, is put in the hands of Congress?
Adolf Hitler -
The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so. Indeed I would go so far as to say that the underdog is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order.
John Quade, The Characteristics and Attributes of the State -
The military force in Christian states is also very small in terms of a standing army, yet it is very large in the number of troops that can be mobilized to repel invasion by an enemy. The military is small because Christian foreign policy is defensive, not offensive. That is, the Christian only goes to war to defend a just cause or after another has declared war on the Christian state. Mobilizing the people in a Christian state is relatively easy because all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 55 are already a part of the militia which is always kept in a high state of readiness. A militia force is the most cost effective means of providing a military force to protect the nation.
Misc. Citations

Articles of Confederation
VI
No vessel of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the United States in Congress assembled, for the defense of such State, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgement of the United States in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defense of such State; but every State shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of filed pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage.
Northwest Ordinance; July 13, 1787
Sec. 6. The governor, for the time being, shall be commander in chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same below the rank of general officers; all general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress.
Constitution for the United States of America
Art 1 sec 8
[The Congress shall have Power]

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;
Art 2 sec 2

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 - ARTICLE 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 - ARTICLE 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.
Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886)
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/116/252/
Unless restrained by their own constitutions, state legislatures may enact statutes to control and regulate all organizations, drilling, and parading of military bodies and associations except those which are authorized by the militia laws of the United States.
Herman Presser, the plaintiff in error, was indicted on September 24, 1879, in the Criminal Court of Cook County, Illinois, far a violation of the following sections of Art. XI of the Military Code of that state, Act of May 28, 1879, Laws of 1879, 192.
"§ 5. It shall not be lawful for any body of men whatever other than the regular organized volunteer militia of this state and the troops of the United States to associate themselves together as a military company or organization, or to drill or parade with arms in any city or town of this state without the license of the Governor thereof, which license may at any time be revoked, and provided further that students in educational institutions where military science is a part of the course of instruction may, with the consent of the Governor, drill and parade with arms in public under the superintendence of their instructors, and may take part in any regimental or brigade encampment under command of their military instructor, and while so encamped shall be governed by the provisions of this act. They shall be entitled only to transportation and subsistence, and shall report and be subject to the commandant of such encampment, provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to prevent benevolent or social organizations from wearing swords."
Martin vs. Mott, 12 Wheat. 29
The constitution of the United States declares that Congress shall have power “to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions,” and also “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.” Art. I, s. 8. The act of Congress of 28th Feb. 1795 has provided “that whenever the United States shall be invaded, or be in imminent danger from any foreign nation or Indian tribe, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth such number of the militia of the State or States most convenient to the place of danger or scene of action as he may judge necessary to repel such invasion: and to issue his order for that purpose to such officer or officers of the militia as he shall think proper.” And like provision is made for the other cases stated in the constitution. The Supreme Court have held that the power to provide for repelling invasions includes the power to provide against the attempt and danger of invasion, as the necessary and proper means to effectuate the object, and that the authority to decide whether the exigency has arisen belongs exclusively to the President, and that his decision is conclusive upon all other persons. This construction necessarily results from the nature of the power itself, and from the manifest object contemplated by the act of Congress. The power itself is to be exercised upon sudden emergencies, upon great occasions of state, and under circumstances which may be vital to the existence of the Union.
Franks v. Smith, 142 Ky. 232, (1911).
"Militia of the State–Power of Governor to Order into Active Service–The Governor of the State has the authority to order into active service the militia of the State at any time or place that he deems their presence necessary. He need not wait before ordering them out to be requested to do by the local authorities."
Fife v. State, 31 Ark. 455, 458,
It is manifest from the language of the article, and from the expressions of these learned commentators, that the arms which it guarantees American citizens the right to keep and to bear, are such as are needful to, and ordinarily used by a well regulated militia, and such as are necessary and suitable to a free people, to enable them to resist oppression, prevent usurpation, repel invasion, etc., etc.
The Militia and the Constitution: A Legal History, Fields and Hardy, (1992)
"The United States technically continues to have a national 'general' militia, consisting of all able bodied males between the ages of 17 and 45 years of age who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia. 10 U.S.C. 311 (West Supp. 1989). Likewise, state codes contain provisions establishing several 'unorganized' militias. See, e.g., Va. Code Ann. §44-1 (Michie Supp. 1989). For practical purposes, however, these 'organizations' have ceased to play any real role in national defense."
The Political Class Book, William Sullivan, (1830)
The framers of the Constitution appear to have considered, that the natural and cheap defence of our country was to be found in the militia. They have, therefore, provided for the existence of such a power, in a manner designed to effect the intended purpose, but carefully avoiding the use of it for improper purposes. The Convention of 1787 must have found the adjustment of the various interests embraced in this subject, a delicate and difficult duty. No constitution would have been adopted by the people, which placed the armed citizens of the country under the military orders of the national rulers.
The Americans in their Moral, Social and Political Relations, Francis J. Grund, (1837)
The bulwark of national defence, however, is the militia; though their discipline and their maneuvers have been the subject of much sarcasm, both in England and America. No one can expect from free citizens the same machine—like subordination, which may be exacted from hired soldiers whose trade is 'to kill and to be killed to make a living;' but the citizen soldier has a hundred moral advantages over the martial automaton, of which the latter is never possessed.
"The militia may improve in discipline, and join military skill to superior intelligence; but the highest mark of perfection in a mercenary is a blind obedience to his superiors, without a vestige of thought or reflection. It is the mechanical excellence of soldiers, which renders their presence dangerous in a republic; and against the evil influence of which a powerful militia is the best and only safeguard. The esprit de corps is always a dangerous enemy to the esprit du peuple, unless the latter be embodied in some armed force. The militia, therefore, are not only a means of defence against an external enemy, but also a preserver of the peace within. They save the country the expense of a large standing army, by performing, themselves, a portion of those duties which would otherwise devolve on the soldiery.
Governor Noble's Speech before the South Carolina General Assembly, November 26, 1839.
"In a free government, there exists a just jealousy of standing armies. The history of all nations justifies this feeling. Its records are replete with instances of their danger to liberty. Our ancestors had a practical knowledge on this subject, which led them to guard, by constitutional restrictions, against their introduction. Hence, the reliance of the framers of our constitution, on the Militia, and the provision for organizing, arming, and disciplining it. Hence, the recognition of the great political truth, that a well regulated Militia, is essential to the safety of a free State; and certainly our ancestors were not deceived, in their estimate of the dependence which might be reposed in its efficiency. For the purpose of defensive warfare, it will not be hazarding too much to assert, that Militia are equal, if not superior, to mercenary troops. The noblest and highest motive that can actuate the bosom of man, impels the citizen soldier to draw his sword, to repel the invader of his soil, and to defend his altar and fireside. It may be conceded that for purposes of foreign conquest, regular troops are more available. But, happy for us that it is so: this great confederacy of Republican States, is, from its character, pacific, and never can be prone to engage in wars merely for winning glory, or acquiring foreign dominion.–From these considerations, we learn the vast importance of a well regulated Militia. To prepare them to fulfill the high destinies for which they are intended, care should be taken, to train and discipline them in times of peace: but this duty applies more especially to the officers. I am aware that free men will not submit to those rigid rules, which are applicable to the regular soldier; nor is this required. The idea is not entertained, that the private militia man can, or ought to be, subjected to the same degree of rigorous discipline, as a soldier, in the regular ranks. Indeed it is questionable, whether the attempt to give the private militia the automaton precision of the soldier, should be made at all. It is not believed to be essential to the perfection of our system, that any such attempt should be made. But the case is widely different with the militia officers, they may be instructed, and brought to a high degree of discipline in the military art.–And if the officers have attained to a respectable degree of knowledge, it will not be difficult for them, in a period, of actual service, to train their men, in a short time, in all the duties of the soldier. South Carolina has acted on the assumption of this idea; and all her militia laws look particularly to a body of well trained and disciplined officers. And perhaps no instrument has been more useful in accomplishing this end, than Brigade Encampments. It will be readily admitted, that these assemblages are attended with much inconvenience to the officers and sergeants. But liberty can only be maintained at the expense of great sacrifices, and eternal vigilance. Exemption from inconvenience would be an inadequate compensation, for the ease and inactivity of despotism, which would follow the introduction of standing armies, in the place of the Militia. Nevertheless the Legislature should seek to render the performance of this duty as little onerous as possible, consistent with the great object to be effected. Perhaps the system bears with more oppressive weight on the sergeants, who are compelled by law to serve a limited time, no matter what may be their means. To alleviate the burden as much as possible, I would repeat the recommendation of my predecessor, that rations should be issued to the officers and sergeants, at Brigade Encampments. I herewith transmit the report of the Adjutant and Inspector General, for the year 1839."
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, Joseph Story, (1833)
"The next amendment is: '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.'
"The importance of this article will scarcely be doubted by any persons, who have duly reflected upon the subject. The militia is the natural defence of a free country against sudden invasions, domestic insurrections, and domestic usurpations of power by rulers. It is against sound policy for a free people to keep large military establishments and standing armies in time of peace, both from the enormous expenses, with which they afford to ambitious and unprincipled rulers, to subvert the government, or trample upon the rights of the people. The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpations and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them. And yet, though this truth would seem so clear, and the importance of a well regulated militia would seem so undeniable, it cannot be disguised, that among the American people there is a growing indifference to any system of militia discipline, and a strong disposition, from a sense of its burthens, to be rid of all regulations. How it is practicable to keep the people duly armed without some organization, it is difficult to see. There is certainly no small danger, that indifference may lead to disgust, and disgust to contempt; and thus gradually undermine all the protection intended by this clause of our national bill of rights."
Also see:

Where is the Authority for Militias? by Gregory Allan
https://www.lawfulpath.com/ref/mil-jur.shtml

A Cause By Any Other Name by Gregory Allan
https://www.lawfulpath.com/ref/causnam.shtml
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