The Constitution and Guns - Term Paper Example

This history of gun culture reveals that while Congress and governments were willing to force people to work for them, they were not as willing to help the people in return. The governments were skeptical about not only promoting the ownership and use of firearms but of being the ones to supply citizens with weapons. After the war ended, Congress stored the remaining firearms and, due to impending bankruptcy, chose to neglect them than keep them clean and maintained. The simple presence of these stored firearms sparked the gun culture, and Knox spent a great amount of his time trying to convince Congress to take better care of them, inciting the many uses that could come of the large arsenal.

In 1794, after the firearms had rotted and decayed, Congress finally decided to create new firearms to take their places. However, due to the negligence over a trusty arsenal, it took the United States approximately seventy long and tedious years to create a secure source of firearms. Congress figured it would be worth it since they would use the firearms to form a militia. Alexander Hamilton agreed, stating that he believed every country should be able to have the means to protect and preserve itself.

Even though it was the constitutional job of Congress to form a regulated militia and supply them with the firearms that they needed, it had no desire to do so. After the end of the Revolution, the security of the United States depended on the militia. Congress, though, was reluctant to put firearms in the hands of males that might use the weapons incorrectly. Their biggest fear, which was emphasized by Senator Rufus King, was that the people would use the guns against the government. Therefore, if the government did not supply these people with firearms, they would not have firearms to use against the government.

When Shay’s Rebellion began, the fears of the government were justified. Poor and in-debt Massachusetts farmers crowded together and set themselves against courts and the aggressive tax collectors. Those involved in the rebellion only protested because they had no other alternatives, and their government did not seem the least bit concerned about their needs and interests. Since these protestors made up a large part of the militia, the state had very little to rely on in regard to support. A private army was established, and they fought against the Shaysites; the state came out the victors due to their supply of firearms.

The government was unnerved by the rebellion. Samuel Adams believed that anybody willing to go against the laws of the republic should be sentenced to death. Washington, while recognizing the threat of anarchy, was more concerned with the fact that the farmers fought the government because the government refused to address their problems. During the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, the events during Shay’s Rebellion were brought up. Not only were there flaws in the militia when faced with a foreign invader, but the militia was undependable when confronted with internal chaos.

As a result, the leaders decided to reform the militia to bring it more under the control of Congress, including the distribution of firearms, which prompted the Second Amendment. States would have control over their militia until they were called into federal service, which would then put the control back with Congress. It was decided that the militia should be given power by Congress, but the