This is part 2 of 3 parts of this article.
Click here for Part 3 of this article.
Click here for Part 1 of this article.

Noah Webster 1787:

     "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe.  The supreme power in American cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."

Samuel Adams 1788:

     "Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life, secondly to liberty, thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can . . . the said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the right of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms."

     "Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self defense."

Richard Henry Lee 1788:

     "Militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves and include all men capable of bearing arms. To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."

Tench Coxe 1789:

     "As the military forces which must occasionally be raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article (of amendment) in their right to keep and bear their private arms."

(Reprinted from an article by Scott Craig Jones,
"The Firing Line," July 1999)