National Defense Acts
National Defense Acts (1916, 1920).These statutes provided major restructuring of the U.S. Army. The 1916 act resulted from the “Preparedness” movement to ready the United States for modern war. It authorized nearly doubling the regular army, to 175,000 (and 286,000 in war), but failed to eliminate state militias as nationalists and regulars desired. Instead, Congress designated the National Guard the primary trained reserve, increased its funding and regulation, and authorized its expansion to 450,000. The law required Guard members to take a dual oath to the nation and their state, enabling the president to “federalize” them and even send them overseas. To prepare reserve army and National Guard officers, Congress established a campus‐based Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and provided federal funds for summertime officers' training camps for business and professional men. It also authorized steps toward...
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