American History and the Right to Bear Arms
Yesterday I tried to explain to a friend from China why guns are so prevalent in American and why particular parts of the country are so adamant about the right to bear arms.
I explained it as dating back to the revolutionary war and how guns allowed the colonists to revolt against the British.
However, as I listen to the People's History of the US describe the strikes in the 1800's, I see that the state and federal militias were often used to break strikes and to pacify the strikers. Often times it was necessary for strikers to fire back at the militias. In many ways this is a struggle between he lower and upper classes with the government acting as the arm of the upper class to "maintain order".
This leads me to believe that guns played a crucial role in American long after the revolutionary war in uses other than for hunting. It was a way for the lower class to defend themselves from the oppression of government and the upper class.
This definitely doesn't explain everything, but may just another piece to the puzzle : )
I explained it as dating back to the revolutionary war and how guns allowed the colonists to revolt against the British.
However, as I listen to the People's History of the US describe the strikes in the 1800's, I see that the state and federal militias were often used to break strikes and to pacify the strikers. Often times it was necessary for strikers to fire back at the militias. In many ways this is a struggle between he lower and upper classes with the government acting as the arm of the upper class to "maintain order".
This leads me to believe that guns played a crucial role in American long after the revolutionary war in uses other than for hunting. It was a way for the lower class to defend themselves from the oppression of government and the upper class.
This definitely doesn't explain everything, but may just another piece to the puzzle : )
