Al, I won't refute your history but might but a different nuance to it.
Quote:
Responding to calls for increases in the size of the Regular Army, Guard (read National Guard Association, a lobbying group) advocates argued that a large standing army was inconsistent with traditional American political beliefs. Guardsmen believed that a properly trained, equipped and manned National Guard could provide the country with an organized reserve to augment the Regular Army during national emergencies.
The Dick Act of 1903 temporarily settled the issue by transforming all state militia units into the organized regiments and companies of the National Guard. In simplest terms, Guard units received increased funding and equipment, and in return, they were to conform to federal standards for training and organization.
The law recognized two classes of militia: the Organized Militia (National Guard) under federal-state control and the Unorganized Militia, the pool of 18-to-45-year-old males available for conscription. The Dick Act required Guardsmen to attend 24 drill periods per year and 5 days of summer camp. For the first time, Guardsmen received pay for summer camp but not for drill periods.-Century of Change, Century of Contribution: A Militia Nation Comes of Age
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Then there was WWI
Quote:
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The National Defense Act of 1916 was an important watershed in National Guard history. The act specifically designated the National Guard as the Army's primary reserve while authorizing an expanded Regular Army and Army Reserve. There would no longer be state militias; henceforth, all state units would be designated as National Guard. ibid
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You see, people ask where did the militia go? The states sold it to the Feds because: it was too expensive, modern warfare made it obsolete, and NOBODY wanted to be in it. It was a PITA and the states got rid of it and that is why even though they
could establish one today they won't for the same reason they got rid of it in the first place.