First Freedom

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by David Harsanyi


  Marines, U.S., 181, 192, 201, 205, 211–12, 213, 214, 220–21

  marksmanship

  in American Revolution, 54–63, 54

  British-U.S. contest of, 210–11

  as equated with patriotism, 209–10

  national movement for, 211

  See also sharpshooters

  Martin, Joseph Plumb, 64–66, 67–68, 69, 70, 71

  Maryland, 48, 63

  Maschinengewehr 08 gun, 172

  Maschinenpistole, 198

  Mason, George, 71, 76

  Mason, William, 178

  mass shootings, 248

  Massachusetts

  and American Revolution, 31–34, 40, 42–43, 50, 52

  See also Boston, Massachusetts

  Massachusetts Bay Colony, 25, 51. See also Plymouth colony

  Masterson, Bat, 112

  matchlock muskets, 15–17, 21, 22, 23, 51

  Mauser rifles, 208–9

  Maxim guns, 166, 167, 168–72

  Maxim, Hiram, 166–72, 166, 180, 187

  Maxim, Hudson, 170–71

  Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company, 171

  “Maximite,” 170–71

  Mayflower Gun, 21–22, 22, 24

  McAusland, Andrew, 176–77

  McBride, H.W., 214

  McCall, Jack, 152

  McCanles, Dave, 136

  McDonald v. City of Chicago decision, 247

  McKinley, William, 152

  McKinney, John R., 204

  McNamara, Robert, 220

  McSwiggin, William H., 194

  media, 86, 239. See also movies

  Medvedev, Dmitry, 223

  Mennonites, 25, 26, 27

  mental illness, 247

  Mexican-American War, 103, 104, 175

  Meylin, Martin, 26–27, 28, 29, 30

  “Mikhtim” assault rifle, 217

  military, U.S.

  and assault weapons, 215–16, 218–22

  and breech-loading rifles, 92–93

  casualties in, 158–59

  and Colt firearms, 100–103, 104, 108

  Colt’s relationship with, 102–3, 104

  doctors in, 159–60

  and flintlock musket, 23

  Garand rifles and, 200, 201, 206, 218

  long arms used by, 92

  and machine guns, 158, 162, 163

  semiautomatic rifles and, 200–201, 203

  sharpshooters in, 211–12, 213, 214

  sidearms for, 185

  and Springfield carbines/rifles, 201, 204

  standard .30-caliber ammunition for, 201

  and steam-powered guns, 162

  and technological advances, 181–82

  and tommy guns, 191–92, 193, 194, 198

  and Winchester rifles, 121–22

  See also War Department, U.S.; specific branch, person, or war

  militias

  advantages of, 51

  control of, 77, 239

  in early American colonies, 19–21

  at Plymouth settlement, 19–21

  and right to self-defense debate, 72–73, 74–75, 76, 77, 78, 239

  and Second Amendment, 238, 239

  size of American, 53

  See also American Revolution; specific person or battle

  Miller, Jackson “Jack,” 227–28

  Miller, James “Killer,” 137

  Miller ruling, Supreme Court, 228–29

  Minié bullets, 116–17, 209

  Minié, Claude Étienne, 114, 116

  Minutemen, 73

  Mitrailleuse guns, 164

  Mohawk Indians, 11

  Mohi, battle of (1241), 5

  Mongolians, 4–5

  Montagnais Indians, 13

  Montigny, Joseph, 164

  Moran, George “Bugs,” 193, 194

  Morgan, Daniel, 55–56, 60. See also Morgan’s Kentucky Riflemen

  Morgan, Edmund S., 4

  Morgan’s Kentucky Riflemen, 55, 59–61, 63, 209

  Mormons, 175, 179

  Morse, Samuel, 102

  Mosin-Nagant rifles, 213

  movies, 86, 140, 152, 195, 229, 230

  Mullins, Priscilla, 21

  Murphy, Audie, 204

  Murphy, Timothy, 54–55, 60, 61

  Murray, James, 59

  Museum of Military History (Vienna, Austria), 174

  muskets

  and American Revolution, 40, 43–44, 47, 59–61, 63, 65, 66–70, 66

  ammunition for, 16

  and arms race, 2

  in Britain/England, 4, 67

  British confiscation of cartridges for American, 45, 52

  cost of, 13, 49, 118–19

  development of, 66–68, 70

  and French and Indian Wars, 11–17, 11, 43

  and gunmakers, 67, 68

  gunpowder for, 16, 37

  for hunting, 68

  invention of, 7

  limitations/dangers of, 15–17, 68, 87

  loading/reloading of, 15–16, 66

  locks on, 67

  noise of, 14

  at Plymouth settlement, 19–21

  production/manufacture of, 39, 67, 68, 69, 88, 91, 118–19

  repairing of, 68

  as revolutionizing European warfare, 12–13

  rifles vs., 62, 63

  simplicity of design of, 16

  standardization of parts of, 66–67

  and technology changes, 21

  weight of, 12–13, 29

  and Western expansion, 87

  and Whitney’s inventions, 91–92

  See also type of musket

  muzzle-loading guns

  rifles as, 124–25, 130, 131

  shotguns as, 139

  Napoleon III (emperor of France), 164

  National Crime Victim Survey, 229

  National Firearms Acts “NFA” (1934, 1938), 197, 226–27, 228–29, 231

  National Firearms Museum, NRA (Fairfax, Virginia), 21

  National Instant Criminal Background Check, 243

  National Institute of Justice, 236–37

  National Rifle Association (NRA), 21, 210–11, 227, 231–32, 243, 245–46

  Native Americans. See Indians; specific war, tribe or person

  natural rights, and Bill of Rights debate, 72–79

  Navy, British, 84

  Navy, U.S., 102–3, 127, 181, 201

  Neily, Clark M., 245

  Nelson, Gaylord, 220–21

  Netherlands, 14, 61

  New Deal for Crime, 227

  New England

  gun prohibitions in early, 25

  See also specific colony or state

  New Haven Arms Company. See Winchester Repeating Arms Company

  New York City, 225–26, 229

  New York State, 39, 54, 55, 59–61, 152, 210, 226

  Nichols, George Ward, 133, 138

  Nickell, Vaughn, 214

  Ninth Amendment, 75

  Nixon, Tom, 147

  Nobel, Alfred, 170

  noise

  of cannons, 6, 12

  of Garand M1 rifles, 204

  of muskets, 14

  psychological advantage of, 17

  Nordenfelt Company, 171

  Nordenfelt (Thorsten) gun, 164

  Normandy: sharpshooters at, 212

  North America: first firearms in, 11–17

  North, Simeon, 93, 94

  Norton, John, 116

  Norwegian Krags, 182

  Oakley, Annie, 151–53

  Obama, Barack, 247–48

  O’Banion, Dion, 193

  Office of Indian Affairs, U.S., 148

  Ogallala, Nebraska: killings in, 141

  Ogden, Utah: Brownings in, 175–79

  Okinawa, Battle at, 212

  Omdurman, Battle of (1898), 171

  Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (1968), 230

  Ordnance Board/Department, U.S. Army, 93, 101, 108, 121, 182, 183, 190, 206

  Ordnance, British Board of, 67

  Ordnance, U.S. Navy Bu
reau of, 183, 200

  Ormsby, Waterman, 109–10

  Paine, Thomas, 76

  Palmcrantz, Helge, 164

  “Palmer” (British inventor), 168

  paper cylinders, 115

  Parker, John, 43

  Parker, Shelly, 245

  Parkman, Francis, 148

  Parsons, Jonathan, 74

  Patent Arms Manufacturing Company. See Colt Manufacturing Company

  patents

  first gun, 92

  See also specific person

  Patton, George, 112, 204

  Pavlichenko, Lyudmila, 208

  “Peacemaker.” See Colt—firearms of: Single Action Army “Peacemaker” gun

  peacetime armies: and Bill of Rights debate, 77

  Pedersen rifles, 201

  Penn, William, 25–26

  Pennsylvania, 25–29, 38, 39, 57, 76. See also Lancaster, Pennsylvania

  Pennsylvania long rifle, 26–27, 56. See also Kentucky long rifle

  pepperbox pistols, 98

  percussion arm: of North, 93

  percussion caps, 69, 99, 101, 115–16, 117, 121, 161, 174–75

  percussion-lock rifles, 209

  Perkins, Jacob, 162

  “Perkins Steam gun,” 162

  Pershing, John, 182, 183, 186, 211

  Peru: guns in ancient, 12

  Petrarch, 6

  Philadelphia Convention: and debate about Bill of Rights, 71

  Philip VI (king of France), 5, 6

  Philippine-American War, 190

  Philistines, 1–2

  Phillips, David Graham, 225–26

  Pierce, Franklin, 101

  pikes, 51, 88

  Pilgrims/Puritans, 18–21, 18, 51. See also specific person

  pistols

  origins of, 23

  See also specific model or type of pistol

  Pitt, William, 77

  Plains Indians, 148

  plastics, 218

  Plymouth colony, 18–21, 18. See also Massachusetts Bay Colony

  Polk, James, 104

  Pomeroy, H.S., 106

  Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763), 86

  Pony Express, 144

  populist revolt, 7–8

  Post, Henry A.V., 128

  Postal Service, U.S., 192

  Powder Alarm: and American Revolution, 31–41, 46

  Powhatan Indians, 22

  precision firearms: development of, 88

  Prescott, William, 34, 50

  Preston, Thomas, 75–76

  Price, Richard, 47

  Princeton, Battle of, 64

  Princip, Gavrilo, 173–74, 185

  Provincial Powder House (Massachusetts), 31–33, 40

  Puckle, James, 161

  Pulemyot Maxima Obraztsa 1910, 172

  pump-action shotguns, 177

  Puntigam, Anton, 173–74

  Puritans. See Pilgrims/Puritans

  Purvis, Melvin, 196

  Putin, Vladimir, 223

  Pyle, Ernie, 212

  Quakers, 25–26

  racism, 239, 241–42

  Ragon, Hiram, 228

  railroads, 145

  range warfare, 2–4

  ranged weapons, 2–3

  rapid-fire weapons, 130–31, 153, 182, 183, 186, 190, 205

  Reagan, Ronald, 242

  recreational gun market. See sport shooting

  registry, gun, 227, 232, 242, 243

  Remington Arms Company, 191, 224, 235, 236

  Remington guns

  and Browning, 176

  double-action revolvers, 138

  Indian use of, 149

  M1875 .44-40 caliber gun, 138

  New Model 1875 gun, 138

  New Model Army Percussion Revolver, 139

  popularity of, 138

  rifles as, 176, 182

  single-action revolvers, 138

  and Western frontier, 138, 195

  and World War I, 182

  repeating guns

  air gun as precursor of, 91

  and Browning, 174–75, 177

  and Civil War, 124, 128–29, 130

  Colt’s patent of, 99

  development of, 98, 127, 130

  loading/reloading of, 175

  rifles as, 91, 122, 124, 127, 128–29, 130, 135, 177, 178

  shotguns as, 177

  and smokeless powder, 178

  and technological advances, 122

  and Western frontier, 135

  Winchester as dominant producer of, 177

  See also specific firearm of inventor

  Republicanism: and Bill of Rights debate, 74

  Requa, Josephus, 161, 162

  Revere, Paul, 31, 38, 39, 40, 44, 50

  revisionist histories, 238–39, 242

  revolvers

  air gun as precursor of, 91

  development, production, and popularity of, 95–96, 99–100, 169

  loading/reloading of, 100, 104, 117

  six-shot, 135

  and technological advances, 122

  and Western expansion, 103–4, 135

  See also specific weapon or manufacturer

  ribauldequins, 161

  A Rifleman Went to War (McBride), 214

  riflemen, 56–58, 61, 63. See also Morgan’s Kentucky riflemen rifles

  and arms race, 2

  as automatic weapons, 180, 184, 191

  and Browning-Winchester collaboration, 177

  and gun control laws, 245

  gunpowder for, 62

  hunting, 29, 30, 58, 129–30, 145–46, 233

  loading/reloading of, 28, 29, 62, 63, 203

  mass-production of, 61

  muskets vs., 62, 63

  ownership of, 237

  problems with, 62–63

  quality of, 62

  role in American Revolution of, 61–63, 65

  role in warfare of, 182, 207–8

  in World War I, 182–83

  See also type of rifle

  right to bear arms. See Bill of Rights, American; Second Amendment; self-defense

  rimfire cartridges, 121, 122

  rimfire pistols, 234

  Ripley, James Wolfe, 126–27, 130

  Robbins & Lawrence, 118–19, 146

  Robbins, Samuel E., 118–19

  Robins, John, 43

  Robinson, Edward G., 195

  Robinson, John, 19

  “Rocket Ball,” 117–18

  rodeos, 150

  Roosevelt, Franklin D., 197, 201, 227

  Roosevelt, Theodore, 112

  Root, Elihu, 106

  Root, Elisha K., 105, 112

  rotating chambered breech firearms, 98

  rotating cylinders, 99

  Royal Small Arms Factory (Enfield, England), 126

  Ruger, William B., 233–36

  Russia/Soviet Union, 164, 172, 202, 203, 208, 215–17, 222–23

  Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), 172

  Salisbury, Lord, 172

  saltpeter, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39–40, 41

  samurai, 1

  Saratoga, Second Battle of, 54–55, 59–61

  Savage 99 gun, 233

  Sawyer, Charles Winthrop, 47, 112

  Scalia, Antonin, 75, 228, 247

  Schönbein, Christian Friedrich, 170

  Schupphaus, R.C., 171

  Scott, Thomas, 129

  The Scout of the Plains (stage production), 150

  Second Amendment

  and American Revolution, 239–40

  Ashcroft statement about, 244–45, 246

  Burger comments about, 244

  and civil rights, 241–42

  “collective right” theory about, 239, 243–44, 245

  debate about, 72–79, 231–33, 238–48

  and home defense, 238

  ideological foundations for, 72

  individual rights and, 238–48

  judicial decisions about, 228–29, 238, 243, 244, 246–47

  and militia, 238, 239

  and NFA, 228–29

  and
Oakley’s support for guns, 151

  originalist interpretation of, 237, 243–45, 246

  origins of, 72–79

  and politically motivated historians, 47–48

  as relic of American Revolution, 245

  and right of self-defense, 72–79, 231, 238, 240

  See also gun control laws; gun ownership

  Sedgwick, John, 209

  self-defense

  and American Revolution, 35, 44–45

  and Blacks ownership of guns, 242

  and British confiscation of colonial guns, 49

  in colonial America, 20

  and Constitutional guarantees, 242

  debate about right of, 49, 72–79, 240

  and gun control laws, 230, 245, 246

  and gun ownership, 238, 240, 242, 245, 246

  importance of, 75–76

  judicial decisions about, 246

  as manifestation of natural rights, 49

  and militias, 239

  and Second Amendment, 231, 238, 240

  and Western expansion, 85

  self-priming firearms, 98

  semiautomatic guns

  Browning, 174, 180, 184, 185–86, 187–88

  and crime, 225–26

  and France, 203

  Garand, 200–201, 203

  gas-operated, 233

  loading/reloading of, 203

  and military, 200–201, 203

  negative views about, 182

  pistols as, 174, 184, 185–86, 187–88, 225–26, 234

  rifles as, 200–201, 203

  of Ruger, 234

  shotguns as, 180

  and World War II, 203

  Seminole Indian War, 93, 101

  serial numbers: on tommy guns, 194

  servants: and gun ownership, 21

  Seville, Siege of, 5

  Sharps, Christian, 146

  Sharps M1853 carbines, 146

  Sharps rifles, 145, 146–47, 147, 149

  sharpshooters

  in American Revolution, 54–55, 58–59

  in Britain, 209

  characteristics of, 214

  in China, 213

  in Civil War, 128–29, 130, 209, 210

  and countersniping techniques, 213

  deadliness of, 214

  and definition of sniper, 212

  and France, 211

  and Germany, 208–9, 211, 212

  as legends, 214

  Marines as, 211–12, 213, 214

  pairs of, 214

  role in warfare of, 214

  as showmen, 151

  and Soviet Union, 208

  top-scoring American, 214

  training for, 209, 212, 214

  and Winchester rifles, 213, 214

  women as, 208

  in World War I, 208–9, 211, 214

  in World War II, 207, 208, 212

  See also marksmanship; specific person

  Shaw, Joshua, 115

  Shawnee Indians, 86

  Sheridan, Philip, 149

  shooting clubs, 210

  shooting contests, 150, 233

  short-range battles, 205, 206

  shotguns

  automatic, 179–80

  as breech-loading weapons, 139

  and Browning-Winchester collaboration, 177, 179–80

  and gun control laws, 245

 

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