Michael Bellesiles on "shall . . . be constantly provided with"

[Volokh, Eugene]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael A. Bellesiles [SMTP:mbelles at learnlink.emory.edu]
> Sent: Friday, November 10, 2000 8:52 AM
> To:   VOLOKH at mail.law.ucla.edu
> Subject:      Re: RE: 1792 militia act
>
> It took me a while to find my original source at a library in South
> Carolina, but the phrase "shall...be constantly provided with" is in the
> 1792 militia act. But you are right that it is not in any version I could
> find from the 1790s. So I then went carefully through the legislative
> records and found an 1803 Amendment to the 1792 Act ("An Act in addition
> to an Act entitled 'An Act More effectually to provide for the National
> Defence.'") Checking further, I found it as US Statutes II: 207, passed
> March 2, 1803.
>
> So I was at fault in not reconciling the 1815 version I used with the 1792
> version I also read (I assumed that they were just different versions of
> the same act). On the other hand, I twice mention in my text that the 1792
> militia act required members of the militia to supply their own guns,
> which I trust indicates that I was not trying to obscure that fact. I am
> going to send my editor a corrected version of this paragraph for further
> printings of Arming America. That is the silver lining: I like having my
> errors corrected. Out of the harsh anger of Mr. Cramer has come a positive
> improvement in the text.
>
> Thanks for your patience. And again, do feel free to share this correction
> with anyone who is interested in the matter. Historians like to believe
> that with time and research we will arrive at an accurate record of the
> past. Best wishes, Michael B.
>
> Michael Bellesiles
> Department of History
> Emory University
> Atlanta, GA 30322
> 404) 727-4467  fax (404) 727-4959
> mbelles at emory.edu
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