The Constitutional Convention was called in part as a reaction to Shays’s Rebellion, and Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution contains the “armies clause”; “Congress may declare war [and] raise and support armies …” The Constitution did not, however, eliminate militias; today’s National Guard still derives its authority from a series of constitutional “militia clauses.” These clauses establish congressional power to “organize, arm, and discipline” the militias while ensuring that Congress cannot disarm them. This is where the federal government gets the authority to deploy the various states’ National Guard units overseas.
Extended:
The Constitutional Convention was called in part as a reaction to Shays’s Rebellion, and Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution contains the “armies clause”; “Congress may declare war [and] raise and support armies …” The Constitution did not, however, eliminate militias; today’s National Guard still derives its authority from a series of constitutional “militia clauses.” These clauses establish congressional power to “organize, arm, and discipline” the militias while ensuring that Congress cannot disarm them. This is where the federal government gets the authority to deploy the various states’ National Guard units overseas.