Steve and Mack get into the legalities of militias, and they may not be what you think. They’re definitely more complicated.
REFERENCES
A bunch of farmers that run home to get their guns to come to the common defense against the Redcoats:
American Battlefield Trust. “Lexington and Concord.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/lexington-and-concord
Even though we have selective service:
Selective Service System. “About Selective Service.” https://www.sss.gov/about/
We haven’t had the draft be active for a while:
Selective Service System. “Return to the Draft.” https://www.sss.gov/about/return-to-draft/
As refenced in the Second Amendment:
Constitution Annotated. “Second Amendment.” Congress.gov. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-2/
Appropriations are a bit of a bureaucratic rabbit hole, but the following gives a nice overview. In it, they use the specific examples of the Army being a multi-year appropriation (specifically, 2 years) and the Navy being a no-year appropriation:
Aherne, Drew C. “Appropriations Duration of Availability: One-Year, Multi-Year, and No-Year Funds.” June 7, 2024. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48087
It’s totally legit:
America’s Navy. “Riverine Command Boat.” Updated October 14, 2021. https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2171638/riverine-command-boat/
We’re talking about the Barbary pirates:
Office of the Historian. “Barbary Wars, 1801–1805 and 1815–1816.” https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/barbary-wars
The Panama Canal, when Roosevelt sent warships (not armies):
Office of the Historian. “Building the Panama Canal, 1903–1914.” https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/panama-canal
Since Mack has let us down, here is a discussion about why the founding fathers didn’t want a standing army:
Mulligan, Steve P. “The Army Clause, Part 1: Overview and Historical Background” July 22, 2024. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11204
The subjugation of Ukraine is a long, sad history. Steve has a point that Stalin rather effectively oppressed the populace by land-based means:
Kiger, Patrick J. “How Joseph Stalin Starved Millions in the Ukrainian Famine.” Updated April 15, 2025. History.com https://www.history.com/articles/ukrainian-famine-stalin
But Anne and Mack have a point that you really can’t discount the role of the Black Sea in the situation:
Satanovskii, Sergei. “Why the Black Sea is so important to Russia and Ukraine.” March 28, 2025. DW. https://www.dw.com/en/why-the-black-sea-is-so-important-to-russia-and-ukraine/a-72048886
When the Marines were created:
Marines. “Brief History of the Corp.” https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/Brief-Histories/
The first documented use of armed forces was in 1572 (calm down, Steve):
Merriam-Webster.com. “Word History.”
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