The Constitutional Question: Does the rights protected by the Second Amendment include Citizens owning Fully Automatic Firearms?By Earl Lofland
On April 12, at 4:30 AM the South Carolina Militia mustered Cadets from the Citadel alsoknown as
South Carolina Military Academy
, who launched an attack upon Ft Sumter withcannon fire lasting for 32 hours, until the commander; US Army Maj. Robert Andersonsurrendered the fort to South Carolina
, marking the beginning of the “
War Between the States
”
.Many school books teach the War was about freeing Slaves. Yet there are many more issues thatwere involved besides just the topic of slavery among the several States in the Union, dating asfar back as 1798.If you ask people today where the first shots were fired that started the War, and who fired thefirst shots, an alarming amount of people answer with the Federal government fired the firstshots on April 12. And some believe the first battle was the Battle of Gettysburg. Disturbinglybecause many people were uninterested in American history in school, almost two centuries havepassed, where States have had to endure a standing army, that has lead up to people todaygrowing so accustomed to a standing federal military force. They rally around at celebrationswaving flags; shouting slogans, and wearing logos saying:
“Support the Troops”.
However,when you look at the reason the Second Amendment was created the threat of a standing armywas one of the most dangerous concerns the people of the States seen as threat to either dilutingor ultimately eliminating their individual liberty. In 1789 Congress and the President, JohnAdams first began to take these dangerous steps - an encroachment of the rights of the people of each State, when the Union Congress passed, and President Adams signed into law; the AlienSeditions Act, leading to Vice President Thomas Jefferson and James Madison retaliating withthe Kentucky Virginia Resolutions, later to be
known as the „
Principles of 98’
or the
“
Nullification Crisis
”
.The Citadel Bulldogs as they are known today. From the city of what used to be known asCharles Town South Carolina, (today known as Charleston, SC) were among the members of that States militia. After Major Anderson surrendered the fort to the Citadel and State of SouthCarolina's militia on April 13, 1861, the Union Army was then permitted to leave the fortwithout the threat of being harmed or captured. Outraged by South Carolina's arrogance and theembarrassment of the Union Army being physically removed from the State, RepublicanPresident Mr. Lincoln ordered the Secretary of War, Mr. Simon Cameron to muster 3 regimentsfrom each of the States in the Union of States in retaliation against the seven states who werenow called seditionists, for deciding to separate themselves from an overpowering andunbalanced government, that since 1798 had continuously encroached upon the rights of thepeople of the States . Five days later; on April 17, 1861, Virginia also voted and seceded fromthe Union.
In a Letter to the Secretary of War the Governor of Virginia wrote:
Executive Department, Richmond, Va., April 15, 1861. Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War:Sir: I have received your telegram of the 15th, the genuineness of which I doubted. Since that time I have received your communications mailed the same day, in which I am requested todetach from the militia of the State of Virginia "the quota assigned in a table," which youappend, "to serve as infantry or rifleman for the period of three months, unless sooner discharged." In reply to this communication, I have only to say that the militia of Virginia willnot be furnished to the powers at Washington for any such use or purpose as they have in view.Your object is to subjugate the Southern States, and a requisition made upon me for such anobject - an object, in my judgment, not within the purview of the Constitution or the act of 1795 -will not be complied with. You have chosen to inaugurate civil war, and, having done so, we willmeet it in a spirit as determined as the administration has exhibited toward the South.
–
Respectfully, John LetcherIn the following weeks Maryland and 6 other states voted on secession where Just before April29, The Secretary of War ordered the US Army to go into Maryland to detain each member of the Maryland General Assembly who would vote in favor of secession. This was an furtherencroachment on States rights. Which prevented the people of Maryland from leaving the Union
as it was known would happen if all the member s of Maryland‟s
state Convention had beenpermitted to vote.The principles of nullification was originally accepted in 1814 by the Hartford Convention of New Englanders as well as many in the south, who recognized the Kentucky VirginiaResolutions as a protection against federal encroachments on their rights, and remained a pointof contention; eventually leading to the crisis that erupted in 1832 with the Unions passage of The Tariff of 1832. Despite pleas from Southern representatives, who failed to moderate theprotective barriers erected in earlier legislation, South Carolina called a state convention thatpassed a decision to nullify both, the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 within their borders, andthreatened to secede if the federal government attempted to collect those tariff duties. Thisstruggle between the business owners and people of the several States which formed a Union in1787 went back and forth until 1860 when the predominantly agricultural states finally werethreatened by seeing their economy collapse under the unbalanced tariffs which were leveragedto appease the industrial northern states business owners from paying an equal share in theoperations of the central government. Robert Hayne (of Webster-Hayne Debate fame) resignedfrom the Senate to run for governor of South Carolina, and John C. Calhoun resigned as vice
president, to take Mr. Hayne‟s seat in the Senate. Both men spearheaded the nullification
drive.Making the issue a real possibility of secession and the very threat of war was now seen.
President Jackson immediately offered his thought on this matter, that nullification wastantamount to treason, following the same path that occurred in 1798 with the passage of the
Alien Seditions Act
, ordering the dispatch of naval ships to the Charleston harbor and begandeploying US military to Fort Sumter and other federal fortifications. This outraged the people of many States, reminding them of a similar action which occurred not but 70 years prior- leadingup to the States forming a union and ultimately Declaring war against Great Britain and theEnglish Army. The Unions Congress supported President Jackson however and passed a
Force Bill
in early 1833 authorizing Jackson to use a standing army to enforce the tariff measures. Astanding army continued to occupy the States up until the outbreak of the War in 1861. USForces were continuously marching against the will of the people of the States just as whatoccurred during the 1700's with the King of England and the British Army.Meanwhile Henry Clay again took up his role as the Great Compromiser. On the same day theForce Bill passed, he secured passage of the Tariff of 1833. This latter measure provided for thegradual reduction of the tariff over 10 years down to the level which had existed in 1816. Thiscompromise was acceptable to Calhoun who was not yet successful finding other states tosupport nullification. President Jackson signed both measures. South Carolina repealed itsnullification measure, but then nullified the
Force Bill
and Mr. Jackson ignored this action.Though the issue died down, the outrage of a standing army and the other problems related totariffs did not entirely go away, where they gradually morphed into the principles of StatesDecisions of nullification eventually leading to the secession of seven Southern states and theformation of the Confederacy.In 1861, just one month before Mr. Lincoln took over the WH the SenatePassed the MorrillTariff only possible because many low-tariff Southerners had left Congress after their statesdeclared their secession. Historian Reinhard H. Luthin documented the importance of theMorrill Tariff to the Republicans in the 1860 presidential election where Abraham Lincoln's wasrecognized as a protectionist and supporting the Morrill Tariff bill. Reinhard noted, this billhelped Lincoln to secure support in the important electoral college states; Pennsylvania and NewJersey. Lincoln carried Pennsylvania handily in November, as part of his sweep of the North.Still as all these issues were occurring in Congress the people continued to find disinterest inwhat President Jackson had created in 1832 and Congress nor any president after Jackson had yetdecided to repeal a standing army in the several states.The Second Amendment, like other provisions within the Constitution, was born of acombination of compromise and necessity, where the people of the founders generation hadbecome acutely aware of the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation, particularly thosewhich established a tragic deficiency in the system of national defense which the States were theprimary source in providing this role. The Constitutional Convention was called to seek redressin the potential risks of an encroachment on the Rights of the People outlined within thespectrum of the Articles of Confederation. The Framers experience with Great Britain madethem all to aware of the dangers a large standing army posed to encroach individual liberty,while there was a broad agreement that a stronger federal military was needed, there was insightthat a large and permanent National Armed Force would be met by the people with strongresistance.
In accordance to the Emerson Case; “
The primary shortcomings of the Articles of
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On April 12
Constitutional Queston: Does the Rights proteced by the Second Amendment also include individuals rights to own Fully Automatic Arms, RPG's and other ordindary miltary arms?
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