What is a militia and what would be the purpose of a militia in the twenty-first century?
The United States of America was founded, and attained sovereign status in the world, through the efforts of the established army and also bands of citizens who were willing to fight to secure the blessings of liberty. These bands of armed citizens were the milita. See Militia Tradition for more information about the role of the militia in society as envisioned by the founding fathers. The US Code defines two categories of militia, the organized miltia and the unorganized militia: Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes -STATUTE- (a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. (b) The classes of the militia are – (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval
