WI Bill of Rights Banned Standing Armies?

Anaxagoras

Banned
Suppose that James Madison, taking a cue from Jefferson's draft constitution for the state of Virginia, had written an entirely different 3rd Amendment: "There shall be no standing army except in time of actual war."

Thoughts?
 
Interesting idea. On the one hand it could severely cripple the United States, but on the other hand, it would force the United States achieve its foreign policy goals soley through diplomatic channels.
 
I think there would have been an amendment to change that, or they would just change the definition of war.
 
i suspect that this provision is amended or circumvented as soon as a pressing need is established.

The interesting question, in my mind, is how war is defined. If it is a declared war, then a whole host of American military adventures throughout history are now considered illegal. What happens in their absence?
 
Suppose that James Madison, taking a cue from Jefferson's draft constitution for the state of Virginia, had written an entirely different 3rd Amendment: "There shall be no standing army except in time of actual war."

Thoughts?

This will almost certainly be amended before 1800, as the need for a standing army will become apparent. However, in the interim, the State militias can fill the need. You would probably see the States provide more funding for equipment and training of their militias, which become more effective as a result, during this period. Some of that might carry over into a more effective militia participation in the War of 1812, provided said war still happens in the ATL.
 
I'd think you would see an increase in the size and duties of the Navy and Marines. Before the modern era these were your sources of of expeditionary forces and so in addition to invading Kingdom of Great Joseon or Morocco you will see horse mounted Marines defending the West and such. As mentioned before an increase in the importance of the militia also seems likely.
 

Sachyriel

Banned
Then Britain would try to reconquer America! They're just leaving themselves open to attack, the Indians would overrun them quickly with the help of the Metis!

:D
 

Dialga

Banned
^ You're probably right. A navy, a Marine Corps, and diplomacy alone won't stop all invaders. And how long does it take, on average, to field and arm a decent-sized group of volunteers?

On a brighter note, the ACW might be butterflied away, thanks to all that practice in compromise and diplomacy.
 
The second amendment was a measure intended to mollify the states by letting them keep their militia. The Bill of Rights banning standing Armies would be utterly contrary to one of the main purposes of the Federalist movement: to present a united front against foreign nations.
 
I'm not sure if it could actually be amended, per se, as this is the Bill of Rights, but it would definitely be circumvented once another country began saber-rattling. There are limitless possibilities for this: a permanently-federalized National Guard, an Army "Reserve" which is always on alert, "naval" infantry, the list goes on and on. No matter what happens, however, the Navy will come out on top, and Western expansion will be very limited: the US doesn't have an army to back up any claims. If the Texan Revolution does occur, there will be no American annexation and Texas will be completely independent.

Though that could be very interesting. The US provides arms and "advisors" for Texas, and in exchange Texas becomes our fighting arm. When the US demands a territory or a concession, it brings a Texan ambassador to the negotiating table. That would be a truly epic TL.
 
Perhaps if the size of armies was limited in scope to a few thousand men? In fact, Standing armies have been rather small throughout US history, at least up until WWI... (The Civil War being the exception...)
 
Since there were ongoing confrontations with Native Americans for much of the nineteenth century, there would be an excuse for standing army posts at frontier locations. Since the 1870's, the Posse-Comatitus Act effectively keeps the army out of domestic matters.
 
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