Arming America : The Origins of a National Gun Culture

Dates Covered: 1700 - 1900
ISBN: 0375402101
HH Rating:

Our Take

If we only had a dollar for every time we've read "Owning a gun is my God-given right" or "Guns don't kill people, people kill people," we would be writing this review on a Lear Jet en route to the south of France. There is no such thing as a "gun control debate" in America. Any attempt at a reasonable dialogue always fails, as gun owners resort to the tactics of a selfish four year old -- screaming "Mine! Mine!" at the top of their lungs if anyone tries to take their toys away.

America's attitude towards guns makes reviewing a book such as "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture" by Michael A. Bellesiles a very tough task. Too many people on both sides of the issue already have their minds made up, so you're guaranteed to make somebody angry no matter what stance you take. This is not an exaggeration -- read some customer reviews at Amazon if you don't believe us.

If you have read this far, maybe you actually want to know what Bellesiles had to say. We found "Arming America" to be a fascinating book, as it makes the reader reevaluate the common legend of the heavily armed American in the early 1800s. By examining wills, probates, census records, and personal accounts, Bellesiles presents compelling evidence that the gun has not always been a key part American culture. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that before the Civil War, muskets were expensive and inaccurate, and gunpowder was too scarce to waste on target practice. There were few manufacturers in America, meaning that all the weapons had to be imported from Europe.

Obviously there were some weapons around for a militia to repel attacks from the British or Native Americans. The military did not have any either, and begged for recruits that could supply their own weapons. Less than twenty percent of the population owned a gun, much less than the American myth of little Johnny helping Mommy and Daddy repel an Indian attack with the gun he got for his eighth birthday.

This all changed after the Civil War. The war had launched a whole new industry in America, as guns were needed to supply the Northern armies. The south did not have the same means of production, but were able to acquire quite a few weapons by scavenging them from the battlefield. These included the brand new breech-loading rifles, which were deadly at a huge distance.

When the war was over, the military looked the other was as many veterans took their weapons home with them. A significant portion of the male population had now been trained to use guns, and had learned that it was acceptable to kill their fellow Americans. The gun industry had spent a lot to increase their ability to produce weapons, and did not want to waste their investments. They solved this problem by consolidating their production facilities, and marketing inexpensive arms to the former soldiers. The gun industry was especially successful selling cheap pistols, so that people could leave their heavy rifles hanging over the mantle.

This newly armed populace was more than willing to shoot to kill. Murder rates in the United States exploded after the Civil War -- not in the Wild West, but the in larger cities on the East Coast, where several cities instituted legislation to restrict the carrying of concealed weapons. As is true today, murder rates are higher where guns are easy to get. However, the "Wild West" was not so wild, as the infamous body counts so popular in movies were exaggerated. Billy the Kid might have been insane, he appears to have only killed three people, not the twenty-two he's generally credited with.

This book is brilliantly researched and very well written, and is a captivating historical and sociological work. We here at History House hope that it would add an interesting new angle to America's most controversial national myths. It is already stirred up a couple counterarguments, claiming that Bellesiles' work is inaccurate because they were able to find a handful of first-hand accounts where American pioneers owned guns. It's easy to lie with statistics -- anyone can spend enough time and find evidence that supports their position and ignoring the rest. Bellesiles, a gun owner who has not gone on record regarding his own opinion on gun control, has covered all the bases and presents a convincing case proving this is just another American myth. We suggest that you give "Arming America" a try, and then come to your own conclusions.

Read More at Amazon.com

Discuss this book in our forums