What is the tradition or history that the new militias are following in embracing the term unorganized militia?
A. No tradition. Little history. The unorganized militia never ever had any kind of meaningful existence. It is simply a convenient statutory construct. See the history of the term in section 3 of this FAQ. The Anti-Federalists of the 1780’s who opposed a strong Federal government spoke of an armed militia indistinguishable from all the able bodied male citizenry. This militia was to be a great source of and training ground for republican virtue. They drew upon the writings of American and British republican theorists for this view. This universal militia was to be drawn from the local community, under the leadership of men of rank and substance, and subordinate to local elected authority. The Constitution watered down this concept when it gave the federal government power over organizing, arming and disciplining the militia and even more so, when it gave the federal government rather than the local (state) authority control over the militia when federalized. However, the 1792 Act, as
