[AvOrdVet]

IMHO, OneWingedShark and you are both correct, although a very basic "regular army" was being built up, most of the soldiers during the earlier "Indian wars" were Militia... The "standing army" as we see now was built up during and after the civil war, the mass of the "army" before then was a combination of State and "private" Militia's that were integrated and molded into an army.

But the founders were very clear, they feared a "standing army" as they new that once removed from the hands of "the people" it could be a tool used by a tyrannical government to subjugate its people, that is why they almost always referenced citizen militia's when talking about the DEFENSE of the states and the new Federal State.

[ansel12]

We had militias then, we have militias now, we had a professional military then, we have one now.

What about our standing Navy and Air Force, are they part of this disarmament?