There is a long history of using the military to police American cities. After the Civil War, for example, Union soldiers occupied the former Confederacy for more than a decade. In the 20th century, presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush deployed armed forces to enforce civil rights laws and respond to urban riots. Yet, the historical episode that most resembles the current moment goes back to just before the founding of the U.S.
Beginning in the late 1760s, King George III deployed troops to enforce British law in the face of fierce resistance from North American colonists. By the Revolutionary War’s conclusion, the king’s troops had marched through the streets of every major North American city. As the conflict wore on, British leaders sought to use troops not just as police, but to intimidate would-be rebels and re-assure the crown’s American supporters. While in most places these efforts succeeded in the short term, over time the lived realities—particularly the everyday violence—of military rule undermined support for the royal cause, dooming efforts to resuscitate the British Empire in America.
Reeling from debts accrued during the French and Indian War—which ended in 1763—and seeking to consolidate power over Britain’s overseas territories, the king’s government tightened regulations and imposed new taxes on colonial trade. As part of these reforms, the Royal Navy impounded dozens of merchant vessels for allegedly evading customs duties, enraging merchants as well as mariners, shipwrights, stevedores, and others in port cities whose livelihoods depended on foreign commerce. During the summer of 1768, a riot broke out in Boston, led by laborers, tradesmen, and sailors protesting against these unjust policing practices. The angry mob looted the homes of customs agents, harassed those agents’ families, and even burned a small pleasure boat belonging to one unfortunate tax.
To protect royal officials and crack down on lawlessness, Parliament ordered two regiments of redcoats to encamp in the city, hoping that the show of force would overawe any protest and encourage adherence to the law.
At first, the army did bring order to the streets and quieted public protests. However, tensions quickly arose between the army and the civilians they were sent to police. Two thousand soldiers—many of whom arrived with families in tow—exacerbated the city’s housing shortage and drove up prices for food and firewood. The soldiers’ pastimes of drinking, gambling, and brawling also offended many Bostonians, who retained the piety of their Pilgrim ancestors. As the months wore on, the relationship between the troops and the townspeople grew more and more strained.