That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right (Independent Studies in Political Economy) (Paperback)

by Stephen P. Halbrook (Author) "The right of the citizen to keep arms has roots deep in history..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, North Carolina, South Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"That Every Man Be Armed is highly recommended." -- Choice

"Provides indefatigable research into the Second Amendment, and all serious scholars will eternally be in its debt." -- Sanford V. Levinson, professor of law, University of Texas

"The first scholarly treatise that is both comprehensive and in-depth . . . Suitable for a very wide audience." -- Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

"The need for careful, impartial information makes Stephen Halbrook’s book especially welcome. . . . comprehensive and well-written." -- George Washington Law Review

"[M]ust reading for all those interested in the right to possess and acquire firearms." -- Don B. Kates, Jr., civil rights and constitutional attorney; editor, Restricting Handguns: The Liberal Skeptics Speak Out

THAT EVERY MAN BE ARMED is extremely well-documented and is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in understanding the constitutional and other issues involved in the great American gun control debate. -- Quarterly Journal of Ideology

Halbrook's pathbreaking book has inaugurated modern second amendment scholarship, and no research can overlook THAT EVERY MAN BE ARMED. -- Daniel D. Polsby, professor of law, Northwestern University

Review

“The definitive book on the historical and legal development of the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms.” —Senator Orrin G. Hatch

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Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Independent Institute (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945999380
• ISBN-13: 978-0945999386
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #513,579 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Man Who Bit a Piece Out of the Brady Law Shows Us Why, October 6, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Ventura, CA) - See all my reviews

Stephen P. Halbrook, author and Constitutional lawyer, puts under a single cover in this compact and engagingly written volume an enormous sweep of the history and legal reasoning regarding a human right that has rather sadly fallen into disrepute in the last three decades -- the people's natural and supraconstitutional right to effective self-defense and by extension, defense of their nation. His citings of such famous gun-law cases as _U.S. vs Cruikshank_ and _U.S. vs Miller_ are particularly valuable and conveniently placed where the lay reader can conveniently refer to them. (Did you know that the Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Cruikshank 1876 was exactly the opposite of what the anti-gun activists represent it to be? I didn't, until I read the more complete citation set forth in this book.)

Mr. Halbrook also assembles an extensive collection of the founding fathers' writings on firearms vis-a-vis civil liberties. You may have seen these things printed on T-shirts -- here they are set forth in full. These will provide the gun rights activist with the knowledge to rebut, indeed to flatten, the antigunners' misrepresentations about what the framers of the Constitution had in mind with the 2nd Amendment. A thorough study of the material in this book will allow the gun-rights activist and the freedom-minded individual to argue for arming the private person -- with machine guns, should he want them -- in any discussion, anytime, anywhere, without feeling like a tobacco lobbyist!

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent brief overview of the Second Amendment, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

Halbrook surveys the right to bear arms--which is an ancient democratic right--from ancient times to the Founding Fathers, all the way up to the modern debates on so-called "gun control." He proves irrefutably that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is an individual right. Even ultra-liberal gun haters like Alan Dershowitz and Laurence Tribe have come to the conclusion, however reluctantly, that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is an INDIVIDUAL right of every American citizen.

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Civil Libertarians, July 17, 2000

By	John J. Baeza (Monroe, New York USA) - See all my reviews

Stephen Halbrook's classic scholarly work should be read by all concerned with our civil liberties, and in particular, our second amendment right to keep and bear arms. The text leaves no doubt that the right is an individual one and that the militia is NOT the National Guard or some select militia, but the people themselves. Anyone who believes that the right is intended for a National Guard or select militia has ignored the fact that our Founding Fathers were very concerned about a select group having arms while the general population went unarmed. Also, Halbrook's review of the debates on the ratification of the 14th amendment clearly show that the second amendment is covered by the 14th amendment. Halbrook also describes how some states discriminated against freed slaves by denying them their second amendment rights.

Overall, this is an excellent learned treatise. After you finish with this book, try reading any book or article by David Kopel, Stephen Halbrook, Don Kates or Clayton Cramer (to name only a few of the second amendment scholars).