Militia

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Militia \Mi*li"tia\, n. [L., military service, soldiery, fr.
     miles, militis, soldier: cf. F. milice.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. In the widest sense, the whole military force of a nation,
        including both those engaged in military service as a
        business, and those competent and available for such


        service; specifically, the body of citizens enrolled for
        military instruction and discipline, but not subject to be
        called into actual service except in emergencies.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The king's captains and soldiers fight his battles,
              and yet . . . the power of the militia is he. --Jer.
                                                    Taylor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Military service; warfare. [Obs.] --Baxter.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  militia
       n 1: civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular
            army [syn: {reserves}]
       2: the entire body of physically fit civilians eligible by law
          for military service; "their troops were untrained
          militia"; "Congress shall have power to provide for
          calling forth the militia"--United States Constitution

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  MILITIA. The military force of the nation, consisting of citizens called 
  forth to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection and repel 
  invasion. 
       2. The Constitution of the United States provides on this subject as 
  follows: Art. 1, s. 8, 14. Congress shall have power to provide for calling 
  forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, 
  and repel invasions. 
       3.-15. to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the 
  militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the 
  service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the 
  appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia, 
  according to the discipline prescribed by congress. 
       4. Under the clauses of the constitution, the following points have 
  been decided. 
       1. If congress had chosen, they might by law, have considered a militia 
  man, called into the service of the United States, as being, from the time 
  of such call, constructively in that service, though not actually so, 
  although he should not appear at the place of rendezvous. But they have not 
  so considered him, in the acts of congress, till after his appearance at the 
  place of rendezvous: previous to that, a fine was to be paid for the 
  delinquency in not obeying the call, which fine was deemed an equivalent for 
  his services, and an atonement for disobedience. 
       5.-2. The militia belong to the states respectively, and are subject, 
  both in their civil and military capacities, to the jurisdiction and laws of 
  the state, except so far as these laws are controlled by acts of congress, 
  constitutionally made. 
       6.-3. It is presumable the framers of the constitution contemplated a 
  full exercise of all the powers of organizing, arming, and disciplining the 
  militia; nevertheless, if congress had declined to exercise them, it was 
  competent to the state governments respectively to do it. But congress has 
  executed these powers as fully as was thought right, and covered the whole 
  ground of their legislation by different laws, notwithstanding important 
  provisions may have been omitted, or those enacted might be beneficially 
  altered or enlarged. 
       7.-4. After this, the states cannot enact or enforce laws on the same 
  subject. For although their laws may not be directly repugnant to those of 
  congress, yet congress, having exercised their will upon the subject, the 
  states cannot legislate upon it. If the law of the latter be the same, it is 
  inoperative: if they differ, they must, in the nature of things, oppose each 
  other, so far as they differ. 
       8.-5. Thus if an act of congress imposes a fine, and a state law fine 
  and imprisonment for the same offence, though the latter is not repugnant, 
  inasmuch as it agrees with the act of the congress, so far as the latter 
  goes, and add another punishment, yet the wills of the two legislating 
  powers in relation to the subject are different, and cannot subsist 
  harmoniously together. 
       9.-6. The same legislating power may impose cumulative punishments; 
  but not different legislating powers. 
      10.-7. Therefore, where the state governments have, by the 
  constitution, a concurrent power with the national government, the former 
  cannot legislate on any subject on which congress has acted, although the 
  two laws are not in terms contradictory and repugnant to each other. 
      11.-8. Where congress prescribed the punishment to be inflicted on a 
  militia man, detached and called forth, but refusing to march, and also 
  provided that courts martial for the trial of such delinquent's, to be 
  composed of militia officers only, should be held and conducted in the 
  manner pointed out by the rules and articles of war, and a state had passed 
  a law enacting the penalties on such delinquents which the act of congress 
  prescribed, and directing lists of the delinquents to be furnished to the 
  comptroller of the United States and marshal, that further proceeding might 
  take place according to the act of congress, and providing for their trial 
  by state courts martial, such state courts martial have jurisdiction. 
  Congress might have vested exclusive jurisdiction in courts martial to be 
  held according to their laws, but not having done so expressly, their 
  jurisdiction is not exclusive. 
      12.-9. Although congress have exercised the whole power of calling out 
  the militia, yet they are not national militia, till employed in actual 
  service; and they are not employed in actual service, till they arrive at 
  the place of rendezvous. 5 Wheat. 1; Vide 1 Kent's Com. 262; 3 Story, Const. 
  Sec. 1194 to 1210. 
      13. The acts of the national legislature which regulate the militia are 
  the following, namely: Act of May 8, 1792, 1 Story, L. U. S. 252; Act of 
  February 28, 1795, 1 Story, L. U. S. 390; Act of March 2, 1803, 2 Story, L. 
  U. S. 888; Act of April 10, 1806, Story, L. U. S. 1005; Act of April 20, 
  1816, 3 Story, L. U. S. 1573; Act of May 12, 1820, 3 Story, L. U. S. 1786 
  Act of March 2, 1821, 3 Story; L. U. S. 1811.