Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
Second Amendment
Some of the most important essays on gun rights, gun culture, and the meaning of the Second Amendment have appeared in American Heritage over the last 50 years.
To know what the Framers intended, we need to understand the late-18th century historical context.
Editor's Note: We asked Joseph Ellis, one of the leading scholars on the Founding era, to provide us with historical content for the Second Amendment and what the founders intended when they wrote it.
The Supreme Court left the door open for reasonable regulations of guns if Congress has the will to act.
Editors Note: We asked Prof. Adam Winkler, a nationally recognized expert on Constitutional law and the history of gun control, to give us his thoughts on how we can steer a middle ground between the right to bear arms and strict gun control.
The Supreme Court left the door open for reasonable regulations of guns if Congress has the will to act.
Editors Note: We asked Prof. Adam Winkler, a nationally recognized expert on Constitutional law and the history of gun control, to give us his thoughts on how we can steer a middle ground between the right to bear arms and strict gun control.
Given the recent tragic shootings, historians should play a role in providing dispassionate facts about the history of gun rights and gun control.
Since its founding 70 years ago, American Heritage has stayed out of the fray of partisan politics, focusing instead on a straightforward telling of the American story.
After ten years of research into the history of gun rights, it’s clear that most Americans' understanding of the “right to bear arms” is not consistent with historical facts.
Editor's Note: We asked Patrick J. Charles, the author of numerous articles and books on gun control, legal history and the Constitution, to give us an overview of the history of gun rights.
To find out what the Founding generation said about "well regulated militias" and the right to bear arms, we researched all the colonial and state constitutions enacted before 1791.
Many current interpretations largely the first half of the Second Amendment, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Here are the original opinion and dissents in the famous Supreme Court case that defined the modern version of the "right to bear arms"
CONTENTS
Syllabus
Opinion (Scalia)
Dissent (Stevens)
Here are the original opinion and dissents in the famous Supreme Court case that defined the modern version of the "right to bear arms"
CONTENTS
Syllabus
Opinion (Scalia)
Dissent (Stevens)
Here are the original opinion and dissents in the famous Supreme Court case that defined the modern version of the "right to bear arms"
CONTENTS
Syllabus
Opinion (Scalia)
Dissent (Stevens)
Should Mick Jagger get off of his cloud? And make room for Red Cloud? Was the Architect of Liberty a lousy architect? And who let the poodles out? Our fifth annual survey puts them all in their place.
The National Rifle Association and the Right to Bear Arms
Among the most common mechanical possessions in the households of America, outnumbering even the motor vehicle and possibly outnumbered itself only by the flush toilet and the television set, is a device which, having won the West and championed liberty over
As this issue goes to press, Governor George Wallace of Alabama lies gravely wounded by bullets fired from the handgun of a would-be assassin while he was campaigning for the Presidential nomination in Maryland.
It's the only industrial nation in which the possession of rifles, shotguns, and handguns is lawfully prevalent among large numbers of its population.
Featured Authors
