New doubts about gun historian

Boston Globe ^ | 9-11-2001 | David Mehegan

[farmer18th]

When Emory University historian Michael A. Bellesiles published his sweeping historical study of guns in Colonial America last fall, the reaction was electric.

His thesis that guns were relatively rare in Colonial households, and that the American ''gun culture'' didn't take hold until long after the Founding Fathers drafted the Second Amendment's ''right to bear arms,'' was immediately hailed by gun control advocates and by a host of historians impressed by his bold rewriting of conventional wisdom.

[Bonaparte]

That's a natural fact. Did you see this FR post from last April?

[Bonaparte]

Ooh, looky here! A nice long list of links to articles laying into Bellyill. Of course, the glowing tributes to his "monumental achievement" are the ones to read. All the usual suspects from the NYT to the Chicago Tribune. Garry Wills practically proposed to the man. LOL!

[farmer18th]

Garry Wills practically proposed to the man. LOL!

Hah!

I guess what I liked about this story is that even his fellow vultures in Academe turned on him.

[paleolibertarian]

This whole book is a revisionist joke and work of fabrication, deceit and with one purpose in mind... make gun control seem legitimate by rewriting history. These statists rewrite how we interpret our Constitution.. now they rewrite history. Its real tempting to throw a long line of quotes by the founders... but I won't preach to the choir. If you do your homework on this book, read the NRA magazines' reactions and other reviews of this book on bookseller web sites like amazon. There is nothing new about this Orwellian rewrite of history on the part of collectivists, "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."

[farmer18th]

I've done a fair amount of study on a little town called Chesterfield, New Hampshire in the 18th century. Every household in that "frontier" town had a gun, by my reckoning. I've always thought this guy was writing to his audience, but I'm glad that even his audience has begun to see through the charade.