The Second Amendment has a hidden origin story
Malcolm Gladwell argues that almost everything most people believe about the Second Amendment is wrong. Guns weren’t widely owned in 18th-century America. The militias didn’t win the Revolutionary War. And the amendment that guaranteed their survival was written to protect one thing in particular: the armed slave patrols that Southern plantation owners depended on. In conversation with Jonny…
Malcolm Gladwell contends that the widely-held perceptions surrounding the Second Amendment are fundamentally flawed. He asserts that guns were not commonly possessed by individuals in 18th-century America, the militias did not play a decisive role in securing victory during the Revolutionary War, and the amendment safeguarding their continued existence was actually designed to protect a specific purpose: the armed slave patrols relied upon by Southern plantation owners.
In a dialogue with Jonny Thomson, Gladwell delves into the historical context, examining how originalism has granted the right an unrestricted power, the stark contrast between lethal violence and what is portrayed in detective fiction, the relationship between America's declining homicide rate and advancements in trauma surgery, and whether the nation's predicament stems from an insufficient number of police officers rather than an abundance of them.
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