Hello, Reader!
This week, President Trump deployed approximately 800 members of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., echoing strategies used by the British in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia after the Seven Years' War.
History shows us how stationing soldiers among civilians often ignites tensions rather than quells them.
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πΌοΈ The Big Picture
What's Happening: The White House ordered National Guard soldiers into the nation's capital and placed the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control as part of what the administration calls a crime crackdown. [1]
β οΈ Why It Matters: Deploying armed forces on domestic soil raises sharp questions about civil liberties, civilian control, and the use of military power in civilian areas.
π What History Reveals: In the 1760s and 1770s, Great Britain garrisoned troops in major American cities to keep a military presence in North America and enforce imperial policy. Troops were stationed in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia. What began as a measure to protect its North American territories became a catalyst for independence.
π Historical Deep Dive
Fears of a Standing Army
Early Americans inherited a deep suspicion of standing armies from their ancestors' experiences:
In the English Civil War (1640s), King Charles I used his army to suppress political opposition.
During the Glorious Revolution (1688-1689), Englishmen worried that permanent armies in peacetime could threaten liberty unless firmly under legislative control-- which is why the English Bill of Rights (1689) declared it unlawful for the Crown to keep a standing army without Parliament's approval.
Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke also argued against standing armies. Locke and others noted that liberty could only be preserved if military power was temporary, limited, and firmly under civilian control. [2]
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The Seven Years' War & the American Revolution, 1754-1770
The Seven Years'/French and Indian War (1754-1763) sharpened British North Americans' fears of a standing army. During the war, Great Britain deployed regiments to North America to fight the French and their allies.
After the war, Great Britain kept a peacetime army in its colonies, first to protect its wartime territorial gains and then to enforce anti-smuggling measures, collect customs duties, and maintain order amid protests over Parliament's taxation laws.
In 1768, General Thomas Gage sent two regiments from New York to Boston at Governor Francis Bernard's request to help maintain order during protests over the Townshend Duties.
The soldiers stationed in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia after the Seven Years' War often caused friction with local populations.
Beyond debates over where soldiers would live and the pressures their presence placed on local economies, it was not uncommon for soldiers to become drunk and disorderly, causing problems of violence and property damage. [3]
Americans' fears about standing armies became solidified on March 5, 1770.
Bostonians frequently harassed the British soldiers who had been stationed in their city to keep order since 1768. On the night of March 5, a crowd of colonists taunted Private Hugh White as he stood outside the Customs House. The situation escalated as more townspeople arrived, and Captain Thomas Preston took soldiers into the street to extract White from the situation. The crowd grew more aggressive, and the soldiers fired into the crowd. Five Bostonians died, and six were wounded. [4]
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The Long Shadow of Standing Armies
Early Americans wove the lessons of the British standing armies into the United States Constitution.
- The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to raise and fund armies.
- The framers limited military appropriations to two years at a time.
- The Third Amendment prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without consent.
These constitutional provisions demonstrate early Americans' preference that the government rely on state militias rather than standing armies.[5]
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π¬ Final Thought
Throughout its history, there have been times when presidents have nationalized state militias or National Guard units to promote and enforce law and order.
The most notable examples occurred during Reconstruction (1865-1877), late nineteenth-century labor disputes such as the Great Railroad Strike (1877), the Homestead Strike (1892), and the Pullman Strike (1894), and during the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968).
The use of military force in civilian communities has consistently sparked debate over whether the action was necessary to restore order or whether it would deepen unrest.
What we know from the American Revolution is that Great Britain's decision to use soldiers to enforce imperial policy ultimately strengthened the American Revolution and led to the United States' independence.
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π§ Go Deeper
Curious about the history behind some of the events in this newsletter? Check out:
πͺ The Boston Massacre--What really happened?β
βEpisode 228β
Eri Hinderaker walks us through the night of March 5, 1770, from a tense standoff in King Street to the musket fire that left five civilians dead.
π’ Why Troops Were in Bostonβ
βEpisode 229β
Patrick Griffin reveals why Great Britain stationed 2,000 soldiers in Boston during peacetime, and how imperial politics and colonial resistance collided into violence.
βπ½ Crispus Attucks & the Memory of the Massacreβ
βEpisode 230β
Mitch Katchun explores the life of Crispus Attucks and why he became the most remembered figure of the Boston Massacre.
π A New Lens on the Boston Massacreβ
βEpisode 296β
Serena Zabin uncovers family ties between soldiers and townspeople before the Boston Massacre and how these ties reshape our understanding of this pivotal event.
π 1774: The Long Year of Revolutionβ
βEpisode 294β
Mary Beth Norton spotlights the overlooked year when colonial unity deppened, imperial tensions sharpened, and the path to independence accelerated.
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π¬ What Do You Think?
Does history suggest that a military presence in civilian areas builds trust or erodes it? Why?
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π© Hit Reply to share your thoughts.β
π¬ Join the conversation in our Listener Community.
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Have a great weekend,
βLiz Covartβ
Host, Ben Franklinβs Worldβ
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P.S. Book Links & Regulators
I've been working on a new episode about the North Carolina Regulator Movement for Ben Franklin's World this week. It's been an interesting week to have regulators in my head, and it has left me wondering about the different causes and events that lead to revolution.
The books listed in the End Notes and Further Reading sections now carry links to my Bookshop.org affiliate store.
It takes me 4-6 hours to research and write each newsletter. When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, you'll help support both local bookshops and my research and writing time.
Purchasing through a link doesn't cost you anything, so it's a great way to support this newsletter.
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π End Notes
[1] Ana Faguy, "Trump deploys National Guard to Washington DC and pledges crime crackdown," BBC News, August 12, 2025, accessed August 13, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2110me5g4; Tyler Pager and Devlin Barrett, "Trump's Show of Force Begins to Take Shape as Guard Troops Deploy in D.C.," The New York Times, August 13, 2025, accessed August 13, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/us/politics/dc-police-national-guard.html; Elizabeth Robinson, "Trump's National Guard deployment a test for D.C. Mayor Bowser," NBC News, August 13, 2025, accessed August 13, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/national-guard-troops-dc-democrats-redistricting-morning-rundown-rcna224671.
[2] J.C.D. Clark, The Language of Liberty, 1660-1832: Political Discourse and Social Dynamics in the Anglo-American World, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993); Mark Kishlansky, A Monarchy Transformed: Britain 1603-1714, (New York: Penguin Books, 1996); John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration, (Garden City, NY: Dover Publications, 2002).
[3] Fred Anderson, Crucible of War, (NewYork: Vintage Books, 2001); Patrick Griffin, The Townshend Moment: The Making of Empire and Revolution in the Eighteenth Century, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017); Don Higginbotham, The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763-1789, (Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, 1983).
[4] Eric Hinderaker, Boston's Massacre, (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2019); Serena Zabin, The Boston Massacre: A Family History, (New York: Mariner Books, 2023).
[5] United States, Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, National Constitution Center, accessed August 13, 2025, https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/full-text; United States, Bill of Rights, Third Amendment, National Constitution Center, accessed August 13, 2025, https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-iii.
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π Further Reading
Fred Anderson, Crucible of War, (New York: Vintage Books, 2001).
Eric Hinderaker, Boston's Massacre, (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2019).
Serena Zabin, The Boston Massacre: A Family History, (New York: Mariner Books, 2023).
Affiliate Disclosure: Book links in this newsletter are affiliate links through Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book through these links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchase helps support History Behind the Headlines and independent bookstores. Thank you for your support!
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