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This book examines the socio-political origins of the 1791 U.S. Bill of Rights, with particular focus on the Second Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms. It explores how Congress sought to prevent the concentration of military power in the executive branch by favoring state-controlled civilian militias over a large standing army. The book traces how this militia system functioned through major American conflicts before the First World War exposed its limitations, leading to the rise of a permanent military force and the reorganization of militias into the National Guard. It further analyzes how advances in firearms technology, the expansion of civilian gun ownership, and the commercialization of military-style weapons transformed debates over gun rights, public safety, civil unrest, and state power, shaping ongoing political and social conflicts in the United States.
“A thoughtful and thoroughly researched exploration of the Second Amendment by a well-respected criminologist. French provides a comprehensive analysis of America’s enduring commitment to gun ownership, tracing the legal, historical, and political forces that have shaped and sustained this uniquely American tradition. An insightful and valuable contribution to the debate over one of the nation’s most consequential constitutional rights.” —Jeffrey Ian Ross, PhD, Criminologist, University of Baltimore, USA
Laurence Armand French earned a PhD in sociology/social psychology from the University of New Hampshire and a PhD in educational psychology and measurement/cultural psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is Professor Emeritus–Psychology at Western New Mexico University and a Senior Research Associate/Affiliate faculty at the University of New Hampshire–Durham.
PART I: THE CONSTITUTION; 1. Introduction; 2. The Adversarial Judicial System; PART II: MILITIAS; 3. The Militia and Its Evolution; 4. National Guard, Expeditionary Forces, and Federal Posses; 5. Military History of the “Commander-in-Chief”; PART III: HISTORY OF GUNS AND AMMO; 6. Firearms from the Colonial Era Through the Nineteenth Century: Black Powder Era; 7. Twentieth-Century Weaponry: Machine Guns and Assault Rifles; 8. The Militarization of the Public and Law Enforcement; 9. 2nd Amendment Challenges and Increased Militarization of Law Enforcement and the Public; PART IV: INCIDENCE OF SOCIAL TURMOIL AND VIOLENCE: FROM RACE RIOTS TO SCHOOL MASSACRES; 10. Riots and Vigilantism in America’s History; 11. Gun Violence in the Age of Mass Media; 12. Status of the 2nd Amendment in the Twenty-First Century; Index