What motive did the Founding Fathers have for adding the right to bear arms into the Constitution?
to drive up the cost of weapons and ammunition
to ensure that the government would have a strong national military
to make sure people could defend themselves against the government***
to try to get the delegates from the southern states to ratify the Constitution
3 answers
No. Some people contend this is true, but it is not. The early Americans did not have a standing army, but relied on the militia to defend the nation against whatever military threat might arise.
remember that "well ordered militia being necessary ...." phrase in there ?
To be clear, the individual states' militias were to be called on, like today's National Guard, when threats arose on land inside the United States (invasions, insurrections, etc.). The Navy was established first to defend our shores, then the Marines as a part of the navy to fight on foreign soil if that became necessary. During the Revolution, if you recall, the Congress had no army at all. They called upon each colony to supply troops in the form of militias to join the Continental Army under General Washington, but each state's troops were supplied by each state. Thus, the "well-ordered militia being necessary..."
1 answer