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Author Halbrook, Stephen P.

Title The founders' Second Amendment : origins of the right to bear arms / Stephen P. Halbrook
Published Chicago : Ivan R. Dee ; Oakland, Calif. : In association with the Independent Institute, 2008

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Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  KL 431 G1 Hal/Fsa  AVAILABLE
Description x, 425 pages ; 24 cm
Series Independent studies in political economy
Independent studies in political economy.
Contents "The inhabitants to be disarmed" -- From the tea party to the powder alarm -- The arms embargo and search and seizure at the neck -- A shot heard 'round the world and "a cruel act of perfidy" -- "Times that try men's souls" -- "That the people have a right" -- "A musket to defend these rights" -- A constitution with no bill of rights? -- The "dissent of the minority" -- Virginia tips the scales -- "A majority that is irresistible" -- Mr. Madison's amendments -- The Bill of Rights in the states -- The great militia debate -- Old founders never die, they just fade away -- What does the Second Amendment say?
Summary "Recent years have seen a sea change in scholarly interpretation of the Second Amendment. Beginning in the 1960s, a revisionist view emerged that individuals had a "right" to bear arms only in militia service - in other words, a limited, collective right. But in the late 1980s a handful of scholars began producing an altogether persuasive analysis that changed thinking on the issue, so that today, even in canonical textbooks, bearing arms is acknowledged as an individual right."
"Stephen P. Halbrook's The Founders' Second Amendment is the first book-length account of the origins of this key element of the Bill of Rights, based on the Founders' own statements as revealed in newspapers, correspondence, debates, and resolutions. Dr. Halbrook investigates the period from 1768 to 1826, from the last years of British rule and the American Revolution through to the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the passing of the Founders' generation. His book offers the most comprehensive analysis of the arguments behind the drafting and adoption of the Second Amendment, and the intentions of the men who created it." "With the question of the right to bear arms a cornerstone issue before the United States Supreme Court, The Founders' Second Amendment could scarcely be more timely and important."--BOOK JACKET
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [339]-392) and index
Subject United States. Constitution. 2nd Amendment -- History.
Firearms -- Law and legislation -- United States -- History.
Constitutional history -- United States.
Author Independent Institute (Oakland, Calif.)
LC no. 2008001451
ISBN 9781566637923 cloth acidfree paper
1566637929 cloth acid-free paper