The Minutemen

The Minutemen operate as a collective historical referent to the colonial militia associated with George Washington, summoned by characters as an emblem of decisive, competent martial action and patriotic legitimacy. They do not appear onstage; instead writers deploy them in jocular hypotheticals and competitive banter—notably between Bartlet and Charlie—to contrast modern presidential power with founding‑era citizen‑soldiers. Their invocation supplies moral and military gravitas to private moments and damage‑control conversations, functioning as rhetoric that reinforces presidential self‑image rather than as an active narrative agent.