The Establishment Of The American Civilian Military Training System

The American civilian military training system is the solid foundation of American plural military system. It also is the chief component of national defense education system. The development of the American civilian military training system fit in with the American political traditions and its development of economy and military strength. The 1920 National Defense Act defined the training system. The establishment of it marked the maturity of the American military system and thinking.The aim of this thesis is to discuss the reasons of the establishmentof the American civilian military training system, and study thedevelopmental process of it. And then the article analyses the basiccharacters, historical status and the limitations. We can draw lessons from studying the system.Under the guidance of historical materialism, the thesis uses the research methods and results of history, military science, politics and sociology for reference. By analysis, inference and induction, the thesis probes into the course and reasons that the American civilian military training system was established after the Civil War. It is divided into five parts:The first part: discussing the reasons of the establishment of the American civilian military training system after the Civil War. The main reasons included: the influence of democratic traditions; Historical origins; With the beginning of Total warfare, it asked for large armed forces; The policy of overseas expansion replaced the policy of continental expansion.The second part: Summarizing the process of the development of the American civilian military training system. It included tow parts: the development in early stage and the formal establishment. In the Civil War, qualified soldiers were deficiency. The Morrill Act was passed in July 1862, to overcoming the short of reserve-duty officers. The act laid a foundation for the on-campus military training project. After the Civil War, the National Guard appeared.The third part: Early in the twentieth century, with the intensifying of the international situation and the lessons of the Spanish-American war, America had understanding of the importance of military reserved forces. Leonard Wood' s military thought marked, that the ideology of the civilian military training was maturated. Wood's thought included many parts:-It was inevitable that America would be involved into the world war; realizing and reappraising the citizen soldiers; the conception of the American civilian military training system; and the significance of the American civilian military training system. It was affected by Wood' s thought that the American civilian military training project was making rapid strides. In the 1916, the National Defense Act was passed and the American civilian military training system started to form.The fourth part: discussing the formal establishment of the American civilian military training system. The development of the system was broke down in the First World War. Why did it be established finally after the First World War? It was: America began to implement a all-round strategy for the expansionism of its monopoly capitalist class; European situation was still beset with crises; and the lessons of the First World war. The new National Defense Act was issued in 1920. It symbolized the establishment of the American civilian military training system.The fifth part: Evolution. The establishment of the American civilian military training system pushed the development of American plural military system. Needless to say, this system has play a positive role inavoiding autocracy and alleviating social contradiction. The system has three basis characters: First, it has mature guiding ideology; Second, it covered widely and appeared multi-levels; Third, it paid attention to actual combat, and active-duty officers were on instructors. But no one can neglect its limitations, specially to its class nature of the system.