Sam Jacobs

Negroes With Guns: The Untold History of Black NRA Gun Clubs and the Civil Rights Movement

by Sam Jacobs | Aug 26, 2019 | Featured Articles

With the violent crime rate increasing disproportionately in urban communities, it's no surprise that a recent phone survey of black voters found that 80 percent felt gun violence was an “extremely serious” problem. However, it seems this surge in violence actually has many in the black community changing their views on gun ownership. In 1993, 74 percent of African-Americans favored gun control. Fast forward to 2018, and a Crime Prevention Research Center report found that concealed carry permits are on the rise – especially among minorities. In Texas alone, the number of blacks with permits...

Siege at Ruby Ridge: The Forgotten History of the ATF Shootout That Started a Militia Movement

by Sam Jacobs | Aug 21, 2019 | Featured Articles

The Siege at Ruby Ridge is often considered a pivotal date in American history. The shootout between Randy Weaver and his family and federal agents on August 21, 1992, is one that kicked off the Constitutional Militia Movement and left America with a deep distrust of its leadership – in particular then-President George H.W. Bush and eventual President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno. The short version is this: Randy Weaver and his wife Vicki moved with their four kids to the Idaho Panhandle, near the Canadian border, to escape what they thought was an increasingly corrupt world....

The Supreme Court and the Second Amendment: Understanding the Court’s Landmark Decisions

by Sam Jacobs | Aug 13, 2019 | Featured Articles, Justice

The Second Amendment is one of most fundamental provisions of the Bill of Rights, and one of the most fiercely debated. Since it was first put to paper, legal scholars, gun owners and anti-gun activists have engaged in an endless discussion over the meaning and scope of the Second Amendment, and for most of that time, gun owners have been on the losing side of the argument. Time and again, the pro- and anti-gun factions of American society have appealed to the Supreme Court, the last judge of the law, for a resolution of their differences. Except in its earliest ruling on the Second...

American Militias after the Civil War: From Black Codes to the Black Panthers and Beyond

by Sam Jacobs | Aug 7, 2019 | Featured Articles

The Civil War (1861-1865) was nothing less than a revolutionary reorganization of American government, society, and economics. It claimed almost as many lives as every other U.S. conflict combined and, by war's bloody logic, forged the nation which the Founding Fathers could not by settling once and for all lingering national questions about state sovereignty and slavery. The postwar period, however, was one of arguably greater turmoil than the war itself. This is because many men in the South did not, in fact, lay down their arms at the end of the War. What’s more, freedmen, former slaves...

Milton Friedman: The Forgotten History of the Godfather of Conservative Libertarianism

by Sam Jacobs | Jul 31, 2019 | Economics, Featured Articles

“I would like to say to Milton and Anna [co-author of A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960]: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, acknowledging the central bank’s role in causing the Great Depression Milton Friedman is the Godfather of American conservative libertarianism. He was, at a time when it was deeply unfashionable in official circles, a fierce critic of Keynesian economics. He was a leader of the second generation of libertarian economists to come out...

Policing For Profit: How Civil Asset Forfeiture Has Perverted American Law Enforcement

by Sam Jacobs | Jul 25, 2019 | Featured Articles, Justice

Picture this: You’re driving home from the casino and you've absolutely cleaned up – to the tune of $50,000. You see a police car pull up behind you, but you can’t figure out why. Not only have you not broken any laws, you’re not even speeding. But the police officer doesn’t appear to be interested in charging you with a crime. Instead, he takes your gambling winnings, warns you not to say anything to anyone unless you want to be charged as a drug kingpin, then drives off into the sunset. This actually happened to Tan Nguyen, and his story is far from unique. It’s called civil asset...

Early American Militias: The Forgotten History of Freedmen Militias from 1776 until the Civil War

by Sam Jacobs | Jul 22, 2019 | Featured Articles

The United States militia is enshrined in the Second Amendment of the Constitution. And while the militia movement of today is widely known, its history – and the history of independent Constitutional militias stretching back to the dawn of the republic – is far less well known. Why does this matter nowadays? Because understanding the historical roots of America's militias helps modern-day members appreciate the role they play in our federal system of government. Because since inception, militias have been tasked with stopping those who hold public office from exceeding their authority or...

Commercial Ammo: The Untold History of Springfield Armory and America’s Munitions Factories

by Sam Jacobs | Jul 19, 2019 | Featured Articles

To understand how American citizens today can get their hands on ammo, which rolls off the same factory lines as those that supply the world's largest militaries, it's important to first understand how munitions technology developed. Starting in medieval Europe, on a battlefield where a mounted knight in armor could defeat almost any number of peasants, the development of more advanced and accurate ways to destroy enemy personnel and equipment by launching a projectile is one which combines trial and error, scientific ingenuity, and private enterprise. It's a story of power and technology...

Negroes With Guns: The Untold History of Black NRA Gun Clubs and the Civil Rights Movement

Siege at Ruby Ridge: The Forgotten History of the ATF Shootout That Started a Militia Movement

The Supreme Court and the Second Amendment: Understanding the Court’s Landmark Decisions

American Militias after the Civil War: From Black Codes to the Black Panthers and Beyond

Milton Friedman: The Forgotten History of the Godfather of Conservative Libertarianism

Policing For Profit: How Civil Asset Forfeiture Has Perverted American Law Enforcement

Early American Militias: The Forgotten History of Freedmen Militias from 1776 until the Civil War

Commercial Ammo: The Untold History of Springfield Armory and America’s Munitions Factories

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