National Defense Act of 1916
The National Defense Act of 1916,
Background
The act was passed amidst the "
Sponsored by the committee's ranking member, Julius Kahn of California and drafted by Hay, the 1916 law authorized an expanded Army of 175,000, and an enlarged National Guard of 450,000.[3]
Composition Exemptions
The origins exempting "such as the laws of each State shall think it proper" first presented by
Reserve Officer Training Corps
The provision to establish the
- "...the transformation that will take place in one term of drill in a man just off the farm and very clumsy when he enters college, and who at the end of a term is 'set up', carries himself well, looks neat in his uniform, and has acquired a measure of self-respect, and the respect of his colleagues, to an extent he would not have had without the military training."[6]
Congress agreed, and the ROTC provision was included in the final version of the law.[7][8]
National Guard
The 1916 Act also authorized the National Guard to use federal funds to pay for 48 days of drill a year, as well as 15 days of annual training, an improvement over the previous authorization of five days of summer camp, with no federal funds for drills.[9]
The new law also made the Army's Division of Militia Affairs the expanded and reorganized Militia Bureau, which oversaw federal funding and other requirements for the National Guard in each state.[10]
The 1916 Act also authorized the President to mobilize the National Guard in case of war or other national emergency, and for the duration of the event. The National Guard had previously been limited to service within each state, or federal activation within the United States for up to nine months. Under the 1916 Act, members of the National Guard could be discharged from the militia and drafted into the United States Army for overseas service (to comply with a 1912 decision by the Judge Advocate General of the Army that used a constitutional argument to restrict the overseas use of the National Guard), and could be called up for an unlimited duration.[11] In addition, the Army was prevented from recruiting volunteer units to expand the organization in time of war until after the National Guard had been called up.[12]
The provisions for National Guard activation were used during the Pancho Villa Expedition[13] and World War I.[14] When the National Guard was federalized for World War I, efforts to create volunteer units, which had been used from the Mexican–American War to the Spanish–American War as a way to bypass the issue of when the National Guard could be federalized, came to an end.[15]
Additional results
The 1916 Act also allocated over $17 million for the Army to field 375 new airplanes, and created the Air Division to administer the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, which was based at Langley Field.[16]
The President also requested that the
As part of the debate over preparedness, Congress was concerned with ensuring the supply of nitrates (used to make munitions), so the 1916 Act authorized the construction of two nitrate-manufacturing plants, an industrial village, and a dam to provide them hydropower.[18] President Wilson chose Muscle Shoals, Alabama as the site of the dam.[19] Wilson Dam was later named for him, and the dam and nitrate plants built in Muscle Shoals were absorbed into the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933.[20]
Subsequent changes
National Defense Act Amendments of 1920
The National Defense Act Amendments of 1920,
National Defense Act Amendments of 1933
The National Defense Act Amendments of 1933,
In 1940, Section 61 of the National Defense Act of 1916 was modified to reauthorize the establishment of state defense forces that had been permitted prior to 1916.[26]
See also
- National Guard of the United States
- National Guard Bureau
- State Defense Forces
References
- ^ a b Military Laws of the United States Vol 8, page 608
- ^ Meriden Daily Journal, Wilson Hurries Defense Sessions Prior to Wedding, October 26, 1915
- ^ U.S. Government Printing Office, Politics of Our Military National Defense: History of the Action of Political Forces Within the United States which Has Shaped Our Military National Defense Policies from 1783 to 1940 Together with the Defense Acts of 1916 and 1920 as Case Studies. Presented by Mr. Austin, 1940, page 30
- ^ The Works of Alexander Hamilton Vol 6 page 477
- ^ Edith D. Cockins, Ralph Davenport Mershon, Volume 1, 1956, page 35
- ^ Edith D. Cockins (1956) Ralph Davenport Mershon, v 1, p 30, Ohio State University Press
- ^ Eugene Register-Guard, College Heads are Called to Meeting at War Department, Systematic Method of Training Officers for United States Army to be Discussed by Educators], October 12, 1916
- ^ Jerold E. Brown, Historical Dictionary of the United States Army, 2001, page 40
- ^ The Day (New London, Connecticut), Regular Pay for National Guard, January 11, 1916
- ^ Harrison Summers Kerrick, Military and Naval America, 1916, page 174
- ^ New York Times, Empowers Guard to Invade: Hay resolution in House Gives Wilson Right to Draft Militia, June 23, 1916
- ^ Anne Cipriano Venzon, Paul L. Miles, editors, The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia, 1995, pages 399-400
- ^ New York Times, Legalizes the Use of Guard in Mexico, June 20, 1916
- ^ Lawrence Journal-World, Soldiers From all States in France: National Guard Units Have Arrived Safely, November 30, 1917
- ^ St. Petersburg Evening Independent, Teddy Releases His Volunteers: Says President's Refusal Ends Matter and Calls for Loyalty, May 21, 1917
- ^ Aviation Week and Space Technology, Air Division, Volume 3, January 1, 1918, page 767
- ^ New York Times, Engineers Assist Research Council, October 8, 1916
- ^ Milwaukee Journal, U.S. to Rush New Air Nitrate Plants, July 16, 1917
- ^ Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, Nitrate Plant Wins in House With Changes, May 9, 1916
- ^ Florence Times, Alabama Plays Host to 'North Country', May 22, 1957
- ^ Gregory J. W. Urwin, The United States Cavalry: An Illustrated History, 1776-1944, 1983, page 181
- ^ Michael Dale Doubler, John W. Listman, Jr., The National Guard: An Illustrated History of America's Citizen-Soldiers, 2007, page 68
- ^ a b c Dottie White (17 August 2018) SMDC senior leader discusses his career path, unique role of National Guard in command's mission
- ^ Jeffrey A. Jacobs, The Future of the Citizen-Soldier Force: Issues and Answers, 1994, pages 39-40
- ^ Wisconsin Secretary of State, Wisconsin Blue Book, 1993, page 483
- ^ Sieg, Dr. Kent G. "America's State Defense Forces: An Historical Component of National Defense" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
External links
- Herring, George C. Jr. (1964). "James Hay and the Preparedness Controversy, 1915-1916". JSTOR 2204278.
- National Defense Act (Text) from Emergency Legislation Passed Prior to December, 1917. United States Dept. of Justice, Joshua Reuben Clark. Published by Govt. Print. Off., 1918
- World War I: The First Three Years American Military History. 1988, United States Army Center of Military History.