by Rick Osmon for The Hollow Earth Insider 2/2/2013
An acquaintance reminded me of this the other day. I read it years ago while looking into the history of the Civilian Marksmanship Program, which was a direct outgrowth of the Dick Act aka the Militia Act of 1903. By Acts of Congress established a three level defense for our nation and provided a legal boundary of national, state, and private citizen militia where the national command authority had control over the Army, Navy, and Marines. There was not yet an Air Force and the Coast Guard then was part of the Treasury Department. The President could call up the National Guard for self defense purposes, but could not order their deployment overseas. The governors could call up the National Guard for emergencies inside their state. The Governors could also call up the unorganized militia, but the President could not. That’s right, the Militia Act of 1903 established by law provisions for an “unorganized militia” in each of the various states. The act also provided for arms and armories for both the National Guard and the unorganized militias. The states had the choice Read more
