Prior to WWI, the United States military was remarkably smal…
Prior to WWI, the United States military was remarkably small in comparison to other global powers. To address this, in 1916, Woodrow Wilson signed into law which significantly expanded America’s National Guard and reserve system. A system of state-administered units available for local emergencies that received conditional federal funding for training could be activated for use in international wars. The National Guard program encompassed individual units separated by state borders. The program supplied summer training for college students as a reserve officer corps. Federal and state governments now had a long-term strategic reserve of trained soldiers and sailors.