That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right

by Stephen P. Halbrook

Book Overview

This is an authoritative study of the second amendment, using history and current-day analysis. It is one of the only scholarly works on the subject, but has proven widely accessible. Halbrook traces the origins of the Second Amendment back to ancient Greece and Rome, and then through the "freemen" movement in 18th-century England and France. He demonstrates that the framers of the Constitution were conscious of such history when they drafted the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0945999380
• ISBN13: 9780945999386
• Release Date: March 1994
• Publisher: Independent Institute
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read for Civil Libertarians

Stephen Halbrook's classic scholarly work should be read by all concerned with our civil liberties, and in particular, our second amendment right to keep and bear arms. The text leaves no doubt that the right is an individual one and that the militia is NOT the National Guard or some select militia, but the people themselves. Anyone who believes that the right is intended for a National Guard or select militia has ignored the fact that our Founding Fathers were very concerned about a select group having arms while the general population went unarmed. Also, Halbrook's review of the debates on the ratification of the 14th amendment clearly show that the second amendment is covered by the 14th amendment. Halbrook also describes how some states discriminated against freed slaves by denying them their second amendment rights.Overall, this is an excellent learned treatise. After you finish with this book, try reading any book or article by David Kopel, Stephen Halbrook, Don Kates or Clayton Cramer (to name only a few of the second amendment scholars).

Excellent brief overview of the Second Amendment

Halbrook surveys the right to bear arms--which is an ancient democratic right--from ancient times to the Founding Fathers, all the way up to the modern debates on so-called "gun control." He proves irrefutably that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is an individual right. Even ultra-liberal gun haters like Alan Dershowitz and Laurence Tribe have come to the conclusion, however reluctantly, that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is an INDIVIDUAL right of every American citizen.

Profound and Important Work

This is one of the most profound works that one will ever come into contact with. In it, Halbrook demonstrates the true meaning of the right to keep and bear arms, and why it is so vital to the maintenance of liberty. The basic equation that emerges from his discourse is that liberty can only exist if a populace is armed. In addition to this, he delves into the constitutional, political, and ideological origins of the Second Amendment. Moreover, he demostrates exactly what the Amendment means, what it was intended to imply, and what it still means today. This book is essential reading for everyone who wishes to defend the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.

The Man Who Bit a Piece Out of the Brady Law Shows Us Why

Stephen P. Halbrook, author and Constitutional lawyer, puts under a single cover in this compact and engagingly written volume an enormous sweep of the history and legal reasoning regarding a human right that has rather sadly fallen into disrepute in the last three decades -- the people's natural and supraconstitutional right to effective self-defense and by extension, defense of their nation. His citings of such famous gun-law cases as _U.S. vs Cruikshank_ and _U.S. vs Miller_ are particularly valuable and conveniently placed where the lay reader can conveniently refer to them. (Did you know that the Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Cruikshank 1876 was exactly the opposite of what the anti-gun activists represent it to be? I didn't, until I read the more complete citation set forth in this book.) Mr. Halbrook also assembles an extensive collection of the founding fathers' writings on firearms vis-a-vis civil liberties. You may have seen these things printed on T-shirts -- here they are set forth in full. These will provide the gun rights activist with the knowledge to rebut, indeed to flatten, the antigunners' misrepresentations about what the framers of the Constitution had in mind with the 2nd Amendment. A thorough study of the material in this book will allow the gun-rights activist and the freedom-minded individual to argue for arming the private person -- with machine guns, should he want them -- in any discussion, anytime, anywhere, without feeling like a tobacco lobbyist!