SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : Libertarian Discussion Forum
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Jim S who wrote (4023)10/10/2000 5:23:13 PM
From: Liatris Spicata  Read Replies (2) of 13060
 
Jim-

The Oct 9 issue of National Review had an review of a book entitled "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture" by Michael Bellesiles. Bellsiles advanced the thesis that (from the review) "the idea of a well-armed and self-regulated militia was a delusion: Most Americans were at first indifferent to guns, then positively hostile, and almost no one hunted." Bellesiles thesis is that guns and hunting were scarce in America until just before the Civil War, partly because guns were expensive, and partly for cultural reasons.

The NR reviewers think this is poppycock, and they cite de Toqueville's famous quote from an Alabama farmer that "There is no one here but carries arms under his clothes. At the slightest quarrel, knife or pistol comes to hand." They also cite Bayard Rush Hall's memoir "The New Purchase", describing life in Indiana in 1816. Hall offered a detailed account of the importance of hunting for most settlers and describes the use of rifles both by settlers pursuing criminals and by criminals on the lam.

I can't say with authority or confidence which of these views is more nearly correct, but I thought the reviewers probably got the better of it (not too surprising: the author was not there to defend his work). So you may well be mostly right on this. I suspect The Atlantic article that I read leaned heavily on the Bellesiles book.

Larry
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2026 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News