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- Newsgroups: sci.military
- Path: sparky!uunet!haven.umd.edu!darwin.sura.net!udel!gatech!hubcap!ncrcae!ncrhub2!ciss!law7!military
- From: Stephen M Jameson <sjameson@hannibal.atl.ge.com>
- Subject: Scope of Action-US Military
- Message-ID: <C1F752.L58@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>
- Sender: military@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM (Sci.Military Login)
- Organization: NCR Corporation -- Law Department
- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 17:27:02 GMT
- Approved: military@law7.daytonoh.ncr.com
- Lines: 48
-
-
- From Stephen M Jameson <sjameson@hannibal.atl.ge.com>
-
- >
- >Please return your article after editing, and I will be happy to post it.
- >Thanks.
-
- Edited article follows:
-
- ****************************************************************************
-
- >
- >>......... Could the US President (as C-in-C) order Federal troops to
- >>operate within US Territorial borders?
- >>
- [...]
- >Of course he can. Lincoln even sent troops into the Maryland State
- >legislature to prevent the state from voting for secession. That action
- >is considered illegal, but the Civil War has generally been accepted as
- >having set the precedent for the right of the President to use the US
- >military within the United States.
- [...]
- >There are other examples; Kennedy sent troops into Alabama in the 60s.
-
- Another example is the time when Douglas MacArthur, as Army Chief of Staff
- (early 1930's, I believe), used Federal troops to drive the "Bonus
- Expeditionary Force" from Washington. This was a group of a few thousand WW1
- soldiers, many of whom had fought under MacArthur, who, having fallen on hard
- economic times, came to Washington, camped on the Mall (I think), and demanded
- that Congress provide them with a promised "bonus". I don't recall the history
- or justification of their claim to a "bonus", but MacArthur organized the Army
- and drove the (unarmed) men out of the city.
-
- Closer to the present day, look at the LA Riots and the aftermath of Hurricane
- Andrew. Congressional consent was neither sought nor (presumably) required in
- these cases.
- --
- Steve Jameson General Electric Aerospace / Martin Marietta
- sjameson@atl.ge.com Advanced Technology Laboratories
- Moorestown, New Jersey
- ****************************************************************************
- ** . . . but I do not love the sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow **
- ** for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that **
- ** which they defend . . . **
- ** -- Faramir, "The Two Towers" **
- ****************************************************************************
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