Existing comment:
1865-1899:
Reconstruction in the South:
Congress disbanded southern militia units and prohibited new ones from forming without approval. Southern militia units, however, quickly re-formed to enforce the "Black Codes" against former slaves. In general, the militia experienced a renaissance, as many Civil War veterans grew nostalgic for "camp life and camaraderie."
Indian Wars and Treaties in the West:
During the late nineteenth century, wars in the West continued between U.S. forces and citizens eager to expand into the unsettled territory and Indian tribes who inhabited much of the area. In 186, American forces led by General George Custer were massacred by Sioux Indians at the Battle of Little Big Horn. A Nebraska Guardsman rescued an Indian baby whose mother was killed in the battle. Despite this defeat, Federal troops appropriated much of territory originally occupied by American Indians.
1878 Posse Comitatus Law:
This important law barred the use of federal troops to enforce local laws.
The Militia Becomes the Guard:
The name "National Guard" was first used by the New York Militia in 1823 in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, who had formed the "Garde National" during the French Revolution. By the 1870s, the term National Guard gained favor throughout the militia system and was once almost universally assumed nationwide.
1878 Establishment of the National Guard Association of the United States:
Federal support was sought for improved training and better resources.
Controlling Civil Disorder and Labor Strikes:
In the industrializing North, militia units were called up as a police force for strike duty as a nationwide wave of strikes rocked the country's largest cities. In 1877, a railroad worker strike started in West Virginia and spread to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The governor called up 8,000 guardsmen, who put down the strike. Guardsmen were also called out during a strike at the Pullman Sleeping Car Company in Chicago. |