The Gunning of America

Not Marksmen, but Businessmen

Firearms and the Second Amendment to the US Constitution – assuring the right to bear arms – hold a vaunted place in national politics. The US media often describe citizens as having a centuries-old love affair with their weapons, depicting a strong relationship reflecting a deep-seated “gun culture.” In truth, the frontier-era gun culture didn’t exist before gun manufacturers invented it as a marketing saga. The pioneers of the American gun industry weren’t marksmen, soldiers or hunters. They felt no particular “heated passion” for guns. Nearly all were struggling businessmen who saw weaponry as an opportunity to fulfill their financial ambitions.

Eli Whitney, embittered after intellectual property pirates in the US South expropriated his cotton gin, lamented facing “bankruptcy and ruin.” The famous inventor was making hatpins and nails before he landed a government contract to make muskets. Eliphalet Remington was a poet and pacifist. Samuel Colt toured the country as a laughing-gas salesman. His exhibitions of “scientific amusement” featured dancing, singing, wrestling, and other performances by volunteers intoxicated with “the witchcraft...