Then & Now: Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution
UNI TED STATES CONST I TUT ION
ARTICLE 1 (Continued)
In Article 1, Section 8 , of the United States Constitution, clauses 14-16 establish that Congress is in charge of declaring war and providing training for the army and militia. The word militia refers to an organized a body of citizens enrolled for military service and called out periodically for drill but serving full time only in emergencies. Local militias were formed from the earliest English colonization of the Americas in 1607. The first colony- wide militia was formed by Massachusetts in 1636 by merging small older local units. The various colonial militias became state militias when the United States became independent from England. Today, the work of the militia is carried out by the National Guard, which is a reserve military force composed of military members of each state. The majority of National Guard soldiers and airmen hold a civilian job full-time while serving part-time as a National Guard member. National Guard units are under the dual control of the state and the federal government. Many National Guard units have served in Iraq and Afghanistan alongside the U.S. Army.
Section 7 All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. Section 8 The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrowMoney on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; To establish Post Offices and post Roads; To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land andWater;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing,
TO PROVIDE SUPPORT for the 2017 presidential inauguration, Lt. Joseph Colin with the Metro Police Department in Washington D.C. swore in National Guard soldiers from Pennsylvania and Kentucky in this photo. (National Guard Photo by Sgt. Cory Grogan, JTF-DC.)
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