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This book examines the socio-political origins of the 1791 U.S. Bill of Rights, with particular focus on the Second Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms. It explores how Congress sought to prevent the concentration of military power in the executive branch by favoring state-controlled civilian militias over a large standing army. The book traces how this militia system functioned through major American conflicts before the First World War exposed its limitations, leading to the rise of a permanent military force and the reorganization of militias into the National Guard. It further analyzes how advances in firearms technology, the expansion of civilian gun ownership, and the commercialization of military-style weapons transformed debates over gun rights, public safety, civil unrest, and state power, shaping ongoing political and social conflicts in the United States.
Laurence Armand French earned a PhD in sociology/social psychology from the University of New Hampshire and a PhD in educational psychology and measurement/cultural psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is Professor Emeritus–Psychology at Western New Mexico University and a Senior Research Associate/Affiliate faculty at the University of New Hampshire–Durham.