I recently bought Ron Paul's "Revolution: A Manifesto" and he made an interesting originalist argument against the draft that I had never heard before.
Article I Section 8 Clause 12 states:
"To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;"
Ron Paul claims that the power to "raise" armies never meant the power to do so forcefully, but only meant the power to pay people to volunteer to be soldiers. I wish I had a 1780's dictionary I could consult, and none of the certified originalists on the Court have addressed this question.
Can anyone verify that raising armies meant only paying people, or that English practice has historically not had a draft?
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