1787/10/10

       Either Richard Henry Lee or Melancton Smith using the pseudonym “From The Federal Farmer to The Republican” publishes an anti-federalist essay warning that the power of Congress to raise and support armies will be unlimited, and that the State Militias are sufficient to defend the voluntary Union:

       Should one-fifth or one-eighth of the men capable of bearing arms be made a select militia, as has been proposed … and all the others put upon a plan that will render them of no importance, the former will answer all the purposes of an army, while the latter will be defenseless.

       [added 7/18/2026]