Scottish History, Presbyterian culture, and the right to bear arms

McIntyre, N. (2023) Scottish History, Presbyterian culture, and the right to bear arms. In: Blocher, J., Charles, J. D. and Mil, D. A.H. (eds.) New Histories of Gun Rights and Regulation: Essays on the Place of Guns in American Law and Society. Oxford University Press, pp. 25-46. ISBN 9780197748497 (doi: 10.1093/oso/9780197748473.003.0003)

Abstract

This chapter illuminates how Scottish Presbyterian and covenanting history and culture shaped views of legitimate arms-bearing in parts of America in the decades leading up to the Second Amendment’s ratification. This chapter shows the diversity of non-English legal, political, and theological influences on self-defense and arms-bearing in the early United States. This history grounded both rights and duties to resist tyrannical government initially in religious understanding and obligations, before it shifted to a more individualized level as the American Revolution approached.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McIntyre, Dr Neil
• Authors: McIntyre, N.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities
• Journal Name: New Histories of Gun Rights and Regulation: Essays on the Place of Guns in American Law and Society
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISBN: 9780197748497