Trump's decision to send the National Guard into Washington, D.C., will be defended as a matter of national security. History teaches us this is not about protecting the people at all. The National Guard was deployed to protect the political class from the people.

The United States is now following the same path we have seen throughout history. In ancient Rome, once the Praetorian Guard was stationed in the city to guard the emperor, it became the power behind the throne. Their loyalty was to themselves and the politicians in control at the moment. The guard was not sent to protect the Republic, and certainly not the people. By the time Commodus was in power, the Guard was deciding who would rule, and the Senate's role was ceremonial at best.

The same predicament happened in America's short history. There was genuine fear in late 1860 and early 1861 that secessionist militias or Confederate sympathizers might attack Washington, capture federal buildings, or even seize Lincoln before his inauguration. At the start of 1861, Federal troops were quietly moved into the city. Army units from various forts were sent to guard the Capitol building, the White House, and key bridges into the city. Lincoln was inaugurated in March of 1861, but the new administration took power under the protection of a heavily militarized capital. Various Southern states began declaring secession following the election of November 1860, as they refused to accept Lincoln as their leader. The Battle of Fort Sumter that April took place a month after Lincoln's inauguration, which acted as the catalyst to the Civil War.