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Army Clause

The Congress shall have Power To . . . raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years . . . .
article I
Section
8
Clause
19
Related Citations

Akhil Reed Amar, America’s Constitution: A Biography (2012).

Explaining Founding suspicion of standing armies resulting in the two-year appropriation limitation and noting that this concern did not extend to the Navy.

Earl F. Martin, America’s Anti-Standing Army Tradition and the Separate Community Doctrine, 76 Miss. L.J. 135 (2006).

Explaining that the Founders embraced civilian control over the military and appreciated the need to find the balance between military efficiency and respecting individual rights. 

Arguing that the Framers imposed the two-year appropriations limitation to prevent Congress from committing to long-term military action. 

Akhil Reed Amar, The Bill of Rights as a Constitution, 100 Yale L.J. 1131 (1991).

Arguing that the federal draft cannot be justified by the original meaning of the Army Clause.

Describing the historical development of the English and early American opposition to standing armies.

Arguing that the Framers intended that the power to conscript be embraced by the power to raise armies.

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