Which founding fathers pushed for the right to bear arms?
Upvote:11
Turns out there wasn't much of a "push" involved. The right to bear arms predates the US constitution, and had been seen as an extension of the natural right to self-defense in English culture well before. In fact, the issue had been raised well before US independence, with king James II attempting to disarm his Protestant subjects (James himself was pro-Catholic). In the wake of King James II's deposition in the Glorious Revolution (Wikipedia) the Parliament of England approved the 1689 Bill of Rights, guaranteeing certain civil rights in England. The right for protestant subjects bear arms for self-defense is included.
During the American pre-Revolutionary period, the right to bear and keep arms was both a pragmatic and idealistic issue. Allowing arms to the population was important for safety on the developing frontier areas as well as a natural right that needed to be protected. The Parliament attempted to prevent firearm exports to America to avoid armed uprisings, something seen by the Patriot side as a infringement of their natural rights not unlike what James II had done.
The Revolution came, the Patriot side won and the United States got its independence. The US constitution borrowed heavily from ideals set in English common law, including the right to keep arms codified in the Second Amendment. The amendment was proposed by James Madison (Wikipedia) as a part of his Bill of Rights. The amendment was ratified without much controversy - it didn't really change anything much, just set current practice into law.
More post
- 📝 What is the earliest known account of the modern military salute?
- 📝 Was There a Specified Period Between Declaring War and Attacking Before World War II?
- 📝 Why were Greek philosophy and sciences taken up by medieval Muslim civilizations, but not contemporary Western Europe?
- 📝 Use of lead sheets in reconstruction of late medieval tower?
- 📝 Did Christopher Columbus stay at a Lodge in Cordoba?
- 📝 Was it common to brush off Hitler's radical remarks as just figures of speech to whip up the supporters among US commentators in the 1930's?
- 📝 Where can I find Japanese oil production figures through WWII?
- 📝 By what legal mechanism was Catherine Howard deprived of her title of Queen of England?
- 📝 Was the end date of Soviet-Japanese Border War the direct reason of starting Soviet invasion on Poland in 1939
- 📝 Why did George McClellan fail to act?
- 📝 How much would votes sell for in early America?
- 📝 Did Stalin disarm the Chinese Communist Party around 1927?
- 📝 What kind of atomic bombs were anticipated after Nagasaki?
- 📝 Is it possible to find out on what Roman day of the week Jesus resurrected?
- 📝 To what extent did the 1793 yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia influence the process of relocating the capital to Washington DC in 1800?
- 📝 Where is the location shown in this picture on a modern day map?
- 📝 Did China's life expectancy at birth rise 30.5 years from 1960 to 1980? If so, what were the particular changes made to their society's structure?
- 📝 Book about the story of a WWII photo analyst looking for V1 launching ramps
- 📝 How was the black death spread?
- 📝 What economic incentives (if any) did France have to aid the American army during the revolution?
- 📝 Aside from the Jews, did Hitler have a final solution plan for other ethnicities/races in the Third Reich?
- 📝 Who was the longest lived European monarch of the middle ages?
- 📝 How were the borders of the Holy Roman Empire established?
- 📝 How important were "columnar" strategies in Japan's invasion of China?
- 📝 Why is Germany's history of colonialism and imperialism less prominent compared to other European nations?
- 📝 Did Egyptians circumnavigate Africa in three years during Nekau's reign?
- 📝 What did the ancient Egyptians think of Khufu?
- 📝 How many people in the US starved to death during the Great Depression?
- 📝 Was residual animism partially responsible for Hitler's rise?
- 📝 How difficult would be to watch a p**n movie in US/UK before the WW II?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Which founding fathers pushed for the right to bear arms?
- 📝 Did the Founding Fathers believe that states had the right to secede?
- 📝 Are there notes by the Founding Fathers which indicate why DC citizens were denied a vote in Congress?
- 📝 Are there any documented examples of wooden ships which were in active service for 100 years or more? If not, what is the longest?
- 📝 "More Frenchmen bore arms for the Axis than for the Allies during the Second World War"?
- 📝 Did Hitler make the right decision for Germany when he called off Operation Zitadelle (during the Battle of Kursk)?
- 📝 Founding Fathers and the American Civil War
- 📝 Did the Founding Fathers of the USA really make a distinction between a Republic and a Democracy (and despised the latter)?
- 📝 Were there any other systems which resemble the complex election procedure for the doge of Venice
- 📝 The US founding fathers and Canada
- 📝 Identification of the dagger/mini sword which has been in my family for as long as I can remember (and I am 80 years old)
- 📝 Which days in the Mayan calendar were most auspicious for performing sacrifices?
- 📝 Which was the earliest book of names for naming babies?
- 📝 Which tools were available in 1933 for the Chinese government to intervene in the money market?
- 📝 Which ship sank and made the news for its chaotic evacuation around the year 1912?
- 📝 Did the founding fathers think civil wars would be frequent?
- 📝 Which American Civil War admiral said he would not punish people for getting their ship close to the enemy?
- 📝 What did the founding fathers of America think about immigration?
- 📝 How common is nostalgia for the colonial perod in countries which gained independence in the 20th century?
- 📝 How was it possible for the Ukrainian SSR to be one of the founding members of the UN if it was basically a Province of the USSR?
- 📝 Why Did the Founding Fathers Create the Electoral College?
- 📝 Which country/empire was the dominant hegemon for the longest time?
- 📝 By which year did smiths achieve the ability to handle metal in an exact way that's necessary for the printing press?
- 📝 Which of the Roman wars was the most important and riskiest for Rome?
- 📝 Were there women who were against giving women the right to vote?
- 📝 What were the reasons for the Renaissance / scientific revolution in Europe?
- 📝 Has there ever been a case when a traitorous military commander took command again for the side he betrayed?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 Why does German money from the 1940s not bear Nazi symbols?
- 📝 What is the logic for the map maker classifying the map this way, specifically in Canada?