The REAL Second Amendment

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

In the wake of yet another school slaughter, I’m reposting what I pointed out several years ago after some research on the  historical background of the Second Amendment. It’s not what you think it is. I’m quite sure the former slave states would ban a discussion of this in their schools, and I’m also quite sure that folks who have little understanding of the actual history behind the founding of our country, the Constitution, and this amendment will blindly disagree with what follows. 

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to bear arms, has often been viewed through the lens of individual liberty and self-defense. However, a deeper historical examination suggests that its origins may be rooted in a compromise aimed at placating southern slaveholding states. These states, particularly in the late 18th century, were deeply concerned about the possibility of slave uprisings and sought protections to maintain their control over enslaved populations.

In the years leading up to the drafting of the Bill of Rights, southern states like Virginia and South Carolina harbored large enslaved populations, often outnumbering free white citizens. The fear of slave revolts was pervasive, especially in light of successful uprisings like the one in Haiti. Slaveholders required organized militias to suppress potential rebellions quickly. State-controlled militias, which were largely composed of white male citizens, often doubled as "slave patrols," enforcing slave codes and quelling any threats of insurrection.

James Madison, the principal author of the Bill of Rights, was very aware of these concerns. When the U.S. Constitution was initially drafted in 1787, it centralized military power by creating a national army and giving the federal government the authority to regulate militias. Southern states feared that this shift in power would weaken their ability to control local militias, which were crucial for maintaining their system of slavery.

…as Virginia is looking at this Constitution and sees the federal control of the militia, this is when Patrick Henry and George Mason really started leading the charge. And that charge was about either scuttling the Constitution or getting a Bill of Rights to curtail the power of the central government and protecting the militia. Protecting the militia means that they are protecting slavery. ~ Carol Anderson, CNN interview May 30, 2021

To address these fears, the Second Amendment was included as part of the broader Bill of Rights, reassuring southern states that they could maintain their militias independent of federal interference. While the amendment is often framed in terms of a universal right to arms, its historical context points to a specific compromise designed to support the institution of slavery. By guaranteeing the right to bear arms and maintain militias, the amendment ensured that southern states could continue to deploy their militias as slave patrols, safeguarding the southern oligarchy’s power and control of slavery.

While states in the Founding era regulated guns—blacks were often prohibited from possessing firearms and militia weapons were frequently registered on government rolls—gun laws today are more extensive and controversial. ~ National Constitution Center

The Second Amendment was not simply about individual rights or resistance to tyranny but was an accommodation for southern states' reliance on militias to control enslaved people. This reading complicates the traditional narrative of the amendment as a straightforward defense of liberty, revealing its ties to the preservation of a brutal system of oppression.

If you want to learn more about the history of the Second Amendment, I recommend Carol Anderson’s book, “The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America.”