Existing comment:
1903 The Dick Act:
A major piece of militia reform legislation introduced by Ohio Representative Charles Dick, it replaced the Militia Act of 1792 and increased federal control of the National Guard. It gave the president the power to call up the Guard for longer than nine months in the case of national emergencies. The Act created an Organized Militia (the National Guard) and another group of men, 18-45, who could be called upon to serve, and emphasized training and increased federal subsidies of the Guard. Guardsmen were required to attend 24 drills per year and 5 days of annual training for which they were paid. The Act also stipulated that the organized militia would be called the "National Guard."
With the beginning of the twentieth century, America was on the threshold of a new era marked by industrial growth and new technologies, including the automobile and the airplane. Political turmoil in Europe put pressure on the U.S. to join with its allies in a war that forever changed the world but failed to bring a lasting peace. A series of legislative developments and improvements in military training made the Guard an even more integral part of the armed forces at a critical time when the United States became a major player in the international arena. |