Keep Troops Off the Beat: A Conservative’s Warning
As President Donald J. Trump sends National Guard troops to help reduce crime in the nation’s cities, lessons from Edmund Burke, a prominent conservative politician in Britain during the 18th-century Revolutionary Era, remain relevant for Americans today. In a speech to Parliament, Burke issued a timeless political rights warning, stating, “If you take away the Civil Execution of justice, you maim and mangle the whole constitutional Polity of England.” The British legislator believed that the military should be used in policing roles as a last resort. He argued that strengthening civilian police forces and court systems is a more reliable way to succeed, as it avoids the likelihood of civilian-military conflicts.
In 1768, British authorities mobilized their national army to disperse a crowd outside London’s King’s Bench Prison protesting the incarceration of John Wilkes. A court convicted the high-profile opposition leader of criminal libel for criticizing King George III and his ministers. At first, the relationship between the protesters and the military was peaceful. When the crowd began chanting, “No liberty, no King,” tensions mounted, and the soldiers started firing, some into the air and some into the crowd. Sadly, five or six people were killed, including an innocent bystander. This event is known as the St. George’s Fields Massacre.
Another incident that day further provoked the populace. After enduring thrown rocks, three soldiers guarding the prison chased a suspicious male into a nearby barn. Upon entry, the soldiers shot and killed the supposed suspect rather than arresting him for a trial. However, it was a case of mistaken identity, as the man working in the barn was not at the prison riot. Later, a trial found the three soldiers innocent of wrongful murder, which further inflamed public tensions with the military.
Recognizing that civilian-military conflicts could escalate uncontrollably, Edmund Burke, widely regarded today as a founder of conservative thought, addressed Parliament about the dangers of “Blending the Army into the civil Government.” He criticized the government for relying on military force when expanding civil forces and investing in civil prevention would have been more effective.
Despite Burke’s passionate plea, Parliament refused to open an investigation into the wrongful death and did not require the ministry to use civilian resources before resorting to military force. These decisions left the British government vulnerable to repeating the same mistake.
Just two years later, the British authorities garrisoned a military force among civilians in Boston. Initially, residents and the Red Coats coexisted peacefully. But increased imperial enforcement of customs and trade laws led to a situation similar to the riot at St. George’s Field. A wintertime clash erupted between city residents and British troops. Provoked by rocks and snowballs, Redcoat guards fired into a threatening, unruly crowd, killing five people. A deft John Adams managed to temporarily calm the Bostonians’ anger through expert lawyering. However, the hated supremacy of military authority over civilian rule in the colonies, along with the ongoing quartering of British soldiers among American citizens, added to the list of grievances cited in the Declaration of Independence.
Back in Britain, Members of Parliament continued to ignore Edmund Burke’s warning on the use of the military. In 1780, London officials deployed the army to suppress anti-Catholic uprisings known as the Gordon Riots. Starting in the same St. George’s Field, the religiously inspired riot was even more deadly and destructive than those in support of the radical John Wilkes. As shown by the British experience, the use of military power did not prevent civil unrest in Britain or the American colonies from rebelling.
Like 18th-century British society, Americans today face questions about the proper role of the military in civilian policing. Our politicians and the country would benefit from heeding the advice of the original conservative thinker that using the heavy hand of military force against civilians is unwise before exploring alternatives. Instead, a more effective approach is to expand civilian policing capabilities and strengthen the judicial system. Although the relationships between the National Guard and D.C. residents are mostly positive today, remember that it was similar on St. George’s Field and in Boston before deadly violence broke out.
