• Jiral@lemmy.org
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    11 days ago

    The US way anything but centralised until well into the 19th century. Yet it was able of enduring an effective common defence. In some regards the EU is more centralised than the US today. or at least less dysfunctional.

    • teyrnon@sh.itjust.works
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      10 days ago

      The US from the start kept an Officer Corp. Traditionally Senators could get their patrons in there, at west point.

      The rest was militias and state armouries. The Union soldiers I think were recruited through the states not the federal government itself.

      They did commission armies or navies for a purpose, but would disband them after, like our first engagement to pursue the barbary pirates based around Tunisia that were harrassing our shipping, not long after the revolution.

      I don’t think it was until WWI that we had a standing army. Or a permanent income tax, (they started one in the civil war then ended it after the war.)