The Minute Men of To-Day are Going to Plattsburg

As war broke out in Europe, a debate began over whether the United States should be prepared to participate in a major war. Chief of Staff of the Army, General Leonard Wood and former president Theodore Roosevelt led a movement calling for the United States to be ready to enter the war. Although many in the United States pushed for continued neutrality, the Preparedness Movement gained momentum in 1915 and 1916. 

The Preparedness Movement began with a series of summer training camps in 1915 including one at Plattsburg, New York and culminated in the National Defense Act of 1916. The camps were designed to train possible reserve officers to be called up if the United States entered the war. The National Defense Act of 1916 created the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to formalize the training of reserve officers. The act also expanded both the Army and National Guard.