To some it seemed like a technicality, but on this day in 1789, President George Washington succeeded in getting the First Congress to recognize the U.S. Army under the terms of our new Constitution.

The Revolutionary War version of the Army had been formed under Washington on June 14, 1775 as the Continental Congress decided it was needed in the conflict with Great Britain. The first version of the Army worked with state militias on the fight for independence.

The Articles of Confederation, which were finally ratified in 1781, established the ability to raise troops for the common defense of the United States. (It also allowed individual states to declare war under certain conditions.) But the Confederation government greatly scaled back the remains of the Continental Army into a new regiment with 700 men.

In general, there were great concerns about the need for a standing army outside of times of war. The Constitutional convention of 1787 in Philadelphia provided checks on any standing army by allowing the President to command it, but Congress to finance it using short-term legislation.

Read the article “On This Day: Congress Officially Creates the U.S. Army” on blog.constitutioncenter.org.