Armed in America

September 25, 2017
Legal scholar Charles (Historicism, Originalism and the Constitution) presents a fascinating and thoroughly researched history of gun rights and gun control in America. Charles reminds anyone in need of a constitutional refresher course that the Second Amendment is specifically addressed not to gun rights for individuals, but for “well-regulated militias.” It was in the 19th and early 20th century, as the author cogently explains, that this right “underwent a noticeable transformation” as state and local restrictions on arms prompted avid gun owners to organize and develop a gun-rights platform. This movement, spearheaded by the National Rifle Association, went largely unchecked until the 1968 assassination, by pistol, of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (who, the author points out, was an outspoken NRA critic). Still, neither that event nor the gun violence since has halted what Charles provocatively calls the “golden age of gun rights,” during which the NRA continues to argue that the Second Amendment protects a personal right to own practically any kind of firearm. Charles ably draws on reproductions of historical documents and gun-related political cartoons and advertisements to support his text. While he avoids taking a position, his meticulously documented, highly convincing account suggests that one particularly controversial right—to carry concealed weapons in public—is constitutionally untenable. Agent: Alexa Stark, Trident Media Group.

October 1, 2017
A comprehensive history of one of America's most hotly debated political issues."To say the history of gun rights is contentious would be an understatement," writes military historian Charles (Historicism, Originalism and the Constitution: The Use and Abuse of the Past in American Jurisprudence, 2014, etc.), who questions the historical accuracy of arguments used by the National Rifle Association and other advocates of unrestricted gun use. The author casts doubt on readings of the Second Amendment that allow all citizens to carry loaded weapons at all times to all locales. As he notes, the Founding Fathers intended to restrict the arming of citizens to those serving in organized militias that could counteract repressive state power, rather than giving every citizen a right to bear arms. Though Charles writes that he does not oppose gun use, he is against the "negative stereotype used in contemporary gun rights literature" to call out those who do "not wholly subscribe to the tenets of gun rights theology." The author adequately explains how he conducted his research, much of it based on records more than two centuries old; in fact, the endnotes consume more than 200 pages. Advocates who disseminate falsehoods for the NRA and additional fearmongering organizations, he writes, are simply ignoring historical accuracy. Charles demonstrates how British law formulated before the drafting of the U.S. Constitution fails to support the contentions of NRA lobbyists; as he painstakingly documents, British law favored restrictions on gun use. The author's account of the rise, fall, and rise of the NRA is particularly meaty and brisk. Along the way, Charles explodes myths, often spread by NRA executives and lobbyists, about the alleged public safety impact of guns legally kept in every household. Though not always smoothly written, the book provides solid history that is welcome in our current political atmosphere.An evenhanded book about a controversy that will not die.

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December 1, 2017
The debate in America over gun rights versus public safety lacks a comprehensive and objective overview of the intellectual history surrounding the Second Amendment. Award-winning writer Charles has produced a strong contender for this spot. Impeccably sourced and including useful illustrations, Armed in America delves into the complete history of American gun rights, republican virtue, and militia ideology and offers a keen critique of the NRA's highly influential rhetoric and stance. Gun rights is a serious issue in America that requires experts to weigh in on the public debate, and Charles is a professional historian writing for the general audience. Each detailed line of inquiry is followed by a plain-spoken analysis of how legal and ideological history applies to present-day concerns and cases. This thorough, clarifying volume should be displayed prominently and recommended for coverage of this hot-button subject. In the never-ending battle over gun rights, the public safety side now has a go-to source for facts about the Second Amendment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from January 1, 2018

Charles, a military historian, legal scholar, and prolific author on the historical and legal basis of the Second Amendment, and the intellectual history of gun rights, strongly criticizes the historical research supporting the current popular view of the Second Amendment and citizens' gun rights. Those scholars' findings violate, in Charles's view, the basic principles of evidentiary documentation. Also, this scholarship ignores the huge importance of context in interpreting historical documents. Charles presents a detailed and precise examination of the historic roots of the Second Amendment and, for him, the Amendment's undoubtable premise that gun ownership rights were based on service in a well-regulated militia and defense of republican government. He traces the regulation of gun ownership, which was common in the United States well into the 20th century. By a successful influence campaign, the National Rifle Association, he says, changed the Second Amendment's interpretation from a civic republicanism concept to one of unrestricted gun ownership, a reading based on dubious history. VERDICT This important book will appeal to readers interested in the Second Amendment and U.S. intellectual and political history.--Mark Jones, Mercantile Lib., Cincinnati

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