Happy Thanksgiving From Bearing Arms!

I heard the crack of a rifle from the woods on my neighbor’s property this morning as I walked my dogs and it reminded me of how thankful I am to live in a country where the right to keep and bear arms exists, no matter how much work we have to do so that right can be fully exercised. 

George Washington was the first president to issue a Thanksgiving proclamation, but it wasn’t until 1863 that the last Thursday in November was designated as an annual holiday. Washingtons proclamation asked, in part, that Americans:

unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

In 1789 the Constitution was bereft of the Bill of Rights, but efforts to enumerate those rights held by the American people that could not be infringed by the new federal government were already well underway. Several states had already adopted their own protections for the right to keep and bear arms in their state constitutions, including North Carolina (“That the people have a right to bear arms, for the defence of the State; and, as standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power/”), Pennsylvania (That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; And that the military should be kept under strict subordination, to, and governed by, the civil power.), and Vermont (That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State — and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power). 

By the time Washington issued his proclamation, James Madison had already published Federalist 46 (under the pseudonym of Publius), where he argued that:

Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. And it is not certain, that with this aid alone they would not be able to shake off their yokes. But were the people to possess the additional advantages of local governments chosen by themselves, who could collect the national will and direct the national force, and of officers appointed out of the militia, by these governments, and attached both to them and to the militia, it may be affirmed with the greatest assurance, that the throne of every tyranny in Europe would be speedily overturned in spite of the legions which surround it.

It’s not unreasonable to think that on that Thanksgiving in 1789, many Americans gave thanks for living in a country where the people possessed the right to be armed. That right helped to secure independence from Great Britain and led to the creation of the nation they now called home. It’s even possible that the Flood family, who in 1789 lived in the house I now call home, were among those asking God above to continue to grant His blessings to the nascent United States, and giving thanks for living in the land of the free. 

I suspect the walls of my home have heard a lot of prayers of thanks in the years since, and I’ll be adding another contribution today. I have so much to be thankful for this year, starting with the 28 years I was able to spend by Miss E’s side, as well as the love and support I’ve received from Bearing Arms readers, my colleagues at Townhall Media, and the Second Amendment community since her passing in January.  

We’ll be posting throughout the holiday weekend, so check back for the latest 2A news and views when you can. From the bottom of my heart, I hope your Thanksgiving holiday is a good one; full of family, friends, good food, and blessings in your life both big and small.