"where a so styled "armed people," like an avalanche, crushed standing armies of world known fame."

   "An amendment to our National Constitution says: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." The truth of this provision requires no lengthy comment. The liberty of a people rests on themselves, on their character and institutions, and on their ability to guard against usurpation. The safety of a nation depends on their superiority of culture and the general knowledge the art of war. This was most powerfully demonstrated in the recent Franco-German war in Europe, where a so styled "armed people," like an avalanche, crushed standing armies of world known fame. The enforcement of laws requires often more than ordinary preparations, especially in a Republic as ours, which is subject to constant political fluctuations, and presents a conglomeration of all nationalities with different proclivities and propensities. We cannot, therefore, dispense with a system of military preparations, however cumbersome it may be to an industrious people. A good militia is the more needed as sound Republican principles demand that a regular standing army in a Republic be reduced to an absolute necessity."--Albert Sigel, Adjutant-General of Missouri, [Report Of The Adjutant-General For 1871. Jefferson City, Nov. 20, 1871. Pg. 12]