The Lehr und Wehr Verein (Instruct and Defend Association) was a Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

-based socialist military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 formation founded in 1875.

The Lehr und Wehr Verein was registered with the Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 state authorities on 19 April 1875 with about 30 Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

n and German members. The organization used to train and drill in anticipation of an envisaged confrontation between Capital

Capital (economics)

In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...

 and Labor. In 1879 the State Legislature

Illinois General Assembly

The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Illinois has 59 legislative districts, with two...

 passed an act establishing a state militia and obliging all other militia to obtain a license from the Governor. That December Lehr and Wehr Verein paraded 40 strong, armed with rifles. They were headed by Herman Presser a socialist worker armed with a saber. Presser was arrested, as the organization had no license. As lawyers disputed whether the new law breached the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...

, Presser became a test case which proceeded through the Criminal Courts, via the Illinois Supreme Court to the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

. In each court his conviction was upheld and became known as Presser v. Illinois

Presser v. Illinois

Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 , was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution limited only the power of Congress and the national government to control firearms, not that of the state.-Background:In this 1886 case,...

. The Lehr und Wehr Verein never again paraded in public.