The Founders' Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent hearing of arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller—which may overturn the capital's ban on handguns—signals a general re-evaluation of the Second Amendment. The trend is toward an unlimited individual right rather than a restricted, collective one applying only to government militias. Halbrook, a research fellow at the Independent Institute in California, is firmly of the former school and investigates the nature of the ideas underlying the Second Amendment during the Revolutionary generation (between 1768 and 1826). How did the founders regard the issue of gun control? What prompted them to define the right to bear arms as fundamental, second only to freedom of speech? Basing his research on contemporary newspapers, political resolutions and private correspondence, Halbrook delves deeply into the importance of firearms during the Revolution, finding that attempts by search-and-seizure to control the flow of guns was regarded as the typical tyrannical behavior of a standing army. Liberty hinged on free ownership. While readers might disagree with some of Halbrook's historical interpretations, his book should be welcomed as a timely introduction to this most contentious of debates. (June)
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Review

"[Halbrook] covers the Second Amendment's historical underpinnings from 1768-1826, and so offers readers a rich interpretive framework from which to grasp the U.S. Supreme Court's (conservative) decision in June 2008... affirming the constitutional right of individuals to keep guns at home." -- CHOICE

"Crisply written, rich with history...valuable to anyone interested in understanding the original meaning of the...right to bear arms." -- GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS, Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Tennessee

"Impressive achievement. Meticulously researched and exhaustive study...invaluable resource for scholars of the Constitution." -- DONALD W. LIVINGSTON, Professor of Philosophy, Emory University

"The last word....Single most comprehensive work on...Founding Fathers' era about the constitutional right of citizens to be armed." -- DON B. KATES, JR., author, Armed: New Perspectives on Gun Control and The Great American Gun Debate (with Gary Kleck)

"Well-written and full of fascinating details....Important resource for professional scholars and interested laypersons." -- NELSON LUND, Patrick Henry Professor of Constitutional Law, George Mason University

"`Hot' and major controversy...Well researched and well presented." -- WILLIAM W. VAN ALSTYNE, Lee Professor of Law, College of William and Mary

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher; 1 edition (June 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566637929
• ISBN-13: 978-1566637923
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,239 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gun rights are a perennial struggle, October 13, 2008

By	Joseph P. Martino "TechnologyForecaster" (Sidney, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book isn't for everybody. For those to whom it's directed, it's excellent and I highly recommend it. In this review I'll try to help you understand whether this book is for you.

To begin with, even if you're a gun enthusiast, you may not be interested in the political and legal details that influenced the Founders in writing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This book delves into those details with enthusiasm (Halbrook is a lawyer, and a good one). Don't buy it if those would leave you cold.

For those who want the details, however, this is an excellent source. Halbrook explains in great depth the growth of the "gun culture" in colonial America, and the efforts of the British government to stifle that culture. Most gun enthusiasts probably know that the American Revolution was triggered by a "gun confiscation" mission ordered by General Gage, which led to fighting at Lexington and Concord. However, Halbrook describes the actions that led up to Lexington and Concord, from 1765 on, including embargoes on shipment of gunpowder to the Colonies, seizure of gunpowder from Colonial powderhouses, and eventually the confiscation of all firearms in Boston.

Halbrook gives only a brief treatment to the conduct of the Revolutionary War itself, except to note the importance of gunpowder smuggled in from the Dutch colony of St. Eustatia. However, the war is not his real focus. His emphasis is on how the Revolutionary War influenced the people who wrote the Constitution.

Halbrook goes into great depth on the debate over whether the Constitution should have a Bill of Rights. On the one side were the Federalists, who argued that a Bill of Rights might eventually become a ceiling over Americans' rights, instead of a floor under them. Why, the Federalists argued, should the Government be forbidden to do certain things which the main body of the Constitution gave it no power to do? The anti-Federalists, who were unhappy with the idea of strong central government in the first place, demanded a Bill of Rights as a price for ratifying the Constitution. Halbrook goes into great depth on these arguments, quoting advocates from both sides.

As it turned out, the Federalists got the Constitution they wanted, with a strong central government, but (supposedly) with only limited powers. The anti-Federalists got the Bill of Rights they wanted, although in retrospect it should be called a Bill of Limitations. Every article in the first ten Amendments is a restriction on the power of the Federal government, not a grant of rights to the citizens ("Congress shall make no law. . ."). One of the great strengths of this book is the description of how it turned out that way: who were the actors, what did they say, and how did they work for what they wanted.

The assumption behind the book, of course, is that the intent of the Founders in writing the Constitution still matters. The Second Amendment, in particular, is not a thing of "emanations from penumbras," to be interpreted by the courts according to "modern conditions," but was the work of people who had to fight for their freedom from tyranny, and who intended that the means for that fight should never be taken away from American citizens. To those for whom that assumption is still valid, the book is an excellent resource on the history and reasoning behind the Bill of Rights, and the Second Amendment in particular.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The depth and detail added to source material quotes makes this a fine pick , August 11, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

THE FOUNDERS' SECOND AMENDMENT: ORIGINS OF THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS considers the history of the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms in early America from 1768 to 1826, offering up the first book-length account of these origins based on the Founders' own statements from newspapers, debates, and legislative resolutions. The depth and detail added to source material quotes makes this a fine pick for both college and high school collections strong in American history and politics.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anyone, November 24, 2008

By	Read for Fun "Interested Parent" (Edgewood, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This book is a must read for anyone interested in our countries history and or how we started down the road to the 2nd Admendment. Well written and backed with facts and stories to make the history come alive.