Quote:
Originally Posted by Little Stevie
So the military and the other socialist and cooperative efforts undertaken by the Colonists and those I listed in my other post were what, COG? Capitalistic? LMAO!
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Every English colony was established for profit and/or religious independence. For example, the Massachusetts' Charter:
Yielding and paying therefore unto us [the king]
, our heirs and successors, the fifth part of the ore of gold and silver, which shall from time to time, and at all times hereafter, happen to be found, gotten, had, and obtained in any of the said lands, within the said limits, or in or within any part thereof, for, and in satisfaction of all manner duties, demands and services whatsoever to be done, made, or paid to us, our heirs or successors, as in and by the said recited indenture more at large may appear. . . .And we do further, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant to the said Governor and Company and their successors, by these presents, that it shall and may be lawful, to and for the Chief Commanders, Governors, and officers of the said Company, for the time being, who shall be resident in the said part of New England in America, by these presents granted, and others there inhabiting by their appointment and direction, from time to time, and at all times hereafter for their special defence and safety, to encounter, expel, repel, and resist by force of arms, as well by sea as by land, and by all fitting ways and means whatsoever, all such person and persons, as shall at any time hereafter, attempt or enterprise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance to the said plantation or inhabitants, and to take and surprise by all ways and means whatsoever, all and every such person and persons, with their ships, armor, munitions, and other goods, as shall in hostile manner invade or attempt the defeating of the said plantation, or the hurt of the said Company and inhabitants . . .[a 'company' is a 'business' enterprise]
http://www.lonang.com/exlibris/organic/1629-cmb2.htm
These
British colonists found they needed protection against Native American, Spanish and French marauders, so they established militias. These militias would, when needed, be called upon to protect the enterprise [business or religious venture] of the colony. “The tradition of the militia stretched far back into English history, to the Saxon fyrd of the time before the Norman conquest and to the Assize of Arms of Henry II in the twelfth century, which required all able-bodied freemen between the ages of sixteen and sixty to bear arms in defense of their country. From these beginnings emerged the institution of the militia, which was organized on the county basis but owed allegiance to the central government.
The militia was based on the principle that a freeman had an obligation to fight for his country in war and to prepare to fight in times of peace. It was a part-time citizen army, to be called out in an emergency—to repel an invasion and then return to the citizen mass whence it had come. Established when Englishmen had feared a professional army as an instrument of tyranny in the hands of an ambitious king before Britain had embarked on foreign ventures that demanded professional forces, it was in declining vigor while the colonies were being settled.
“It was, however, the organization to which the colonists turned in their need, because it was the form they knew most about and because retained the fear of a standing army. . . . Although the laws [in the colonies] varied in detail, they agreed on principle—
all able-bodied males between certain ages owed military service to the colony and had to enroll in the militia. Every colony enacted such a compulsory-training law except Quaker influenced Pennsylvania . . .” (p. 8, T. Harry Williams,
The History of American Wars).
A British company's mandate for obligatory service doesn't quite meet the definition of 'socialist'.
COG, you may wish to quote the above for the benefit of the obstinately-blind, purple writer.
