Douglas MacArthur Quotes

This was an official publication of the U. S. Army. The First World War had very little affect on future military preparedness At that time conservatives in Congress were very isolationist and military preparedness was not a high priority or even a significant political issue. The Democrats then were more supportive of military spending than the Republicans. It took World War II, for which America was very unprepared, to produce a change in public and political opinion regarding military preparedness.

From the beginning, the issue of whether the country should have a standing army or depend on the militia and the citizen soldier has been controversial. There is a , romantic American myth about the Militiamen in Colonial and Revolutionary America—the citizen soldiers who would leave their farms and rise to the military necessity of the day. However, not only were the militia very hard to muster to duty, but most actually didn’t own or have experience with firearms, and the prevailing opinion of knowledgeable military leaders from George Washington on down was that the militia were not very good soldiers. See {613015}, {613016}, {613022}, {613027}, {621987}, {621988}, {613030}, {613033}, & {613056}

More than a decade before Hamilton wrote this, a Maryland commission used the phrase “well regulated militia” earlier. (See {588394}.) It would be less than 2 years before the phrase “well regulated militia” would be added into the Constitution in the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights—September 25, 1789. The Maryland resolution was the last of several passed at a meeting by which Maryland endorsed resistance to the British before the actual Revolution. So these resolations would have been widely distributed throughout the colonies and known by the leaders. Whether the drafters of the 2nd Amendment got the phrase from Hamilton’s Federalist 29 or from the Maryland Resolutions is not known but Hamilton’s was much more current. Did he get the phrase from Maryland? Did Congress get it from him? Did Maryland originate the phrase or was there an earlier use that influenced the Maryland drafters? At this point no one is sure, but the phrase is critical to the meaning of the 2nd Amendment because the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the Second Amandment does not apply to individuals but only to the State’s right to bear arms within the “well regulated militia” and not as individual citizens. The right is that of the State government and that is why a state can control guns including banning them if they choose. So an individual in America does not have the constitutional right to bear arms. He may have a state constitutional right but in other states he may not use a gun in certain places and may not possess certain types of guns like hand guns which are illegal in New York, Washington DC and some other places.

Political disputes over the degree of defense spending are classic in American political history. In the early 20th century, most conservatives were opposed to government spending for the military and the President had great difficulty getting the Conservative wing of his own party to support increased military appropriations. The remains of the great naval hero John Paul Jones had just been brought to the United States from France in which he had died. A large ceremony was held in Annapolis, Maryland and most of the conservatives who had opposed the military spending proposed by Roosevelt attended the ceremony to demonstrate their patriotism. TR shocked them by turning the solemn ceremony into a political embarrassment for them.

The President was distressed to hear that the Confederates had captured some horses and a Union general. He seemed more distressed about the horses. A copy of this quotation was given to Colin Powell when he was promoted to brigadier general.

There is a , romantic American myth about the Militiamen in Colonial and Revolutionary America—the citizen soldiers who would leave their farms and rise to the military necessity of the day. However, not only were the militia very hard to muster to duty, but most actually didn’t own or have experience with firearms, and the prevailing opinion of knowledgeable military leaders from George Washington on down was that the militia were not very good soldiers. See {613015}, {613016}, {613022}, {613027}, {621987}, {621988}, {613030}, {613033}, & {613056}

Theoretically every male citizen was supposed to serve in the Militia at that time. But if one did not, the penalty was a small fine. It became a status symbol. Those middle and upper class men who could get commissions as officers would serve, but those who did not have the political connections or the money to equip his own troops, would rather pay the fine than serve with men he thought beneath him. There is a , romantic American myth about the Militiamen in Colonial and Revolutionary America—the citizen soldiers who would leave their farms and rise to the military necessity of the day. However, not only were the militia very hard to muster to duty, but most actually didn’t own or have experience with firearms, and the prevailing opinion of knowledgeable military leaders from George Washington on down was that the militia were not very good soldiers. See {613015}, {613016}, {613022}, {613027}, {621987}, {621988}, {613030}, {613033}, & {613056}

Gates had been assigned to take over command of the Southern Department which was a total mess with no provisions or money. He took over from General Lincoln {49731} who had failed for lack of resources and support and then Gates’s career was almost destroyed by the same problem.

Even today many Americans believe the myth that the American colonial citizen was a skilled marksman who existing skill and familiarity with guns carried the day in the American Revolution. However, even General Washington had to dispel the myth. It was bad politics for members of Congress and other public officials to criticize the local citizenry militias regardless of how inept they were. Less than one fourth of the militia even owned guns and most were unfamiliar with how to use them. Perhaps one of Washington’s greatest military accomplishment was his choosing Van Stuben and other European officers who did such a good job of training a regular army. See {613015}, {613016}, {613022}, {613027}, {621987}, {621988}, {613030}, {613033}, & {613056}.

She was the 5th female member of the House and its first Jewish member. She was the first woman on the House Military Affairs Committee, and was one of the few Republicans who advocated spending for military preparedness. At the time of her service, many Republicans were strict isolationists.

This size standing army which alarmed so many at the beginning of the 20th century, looked very small when compared with the standing army of America a century later. For earlier American Politician’s views on a standing army, see {592824}, {631687}, {622888}, and {641008}.

Much of the Chinese military had been distracted from military readiness in favor of political, economic, and ceremonial, activity along with extensive economic corruption. The People’s Liberation Army is a major political force in China which made this a very noteworthy chastisement. Leading Generals were with him however. See {632518}.

His aggressive tactics which had served him so well in the West got his army into trouble at the Second Battle of Bull Run, where he was out maneuvered by Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. He was sent back to the West.

See {615006} for but one example of terrible military money and procurement management.

FDR, Eleanor and lost liberals of the time were advocates of a strong military, and unlike after the 2nd Word War, most of the Republicans were conservative isolationists who were opposed to spending much public money for the armed services or weapons.

See {637854} for a quote on the soundness of our military planning.