Bellesiles Update

[Glenn Reynolds]

Since there was considerable discussion of Michael Bellesiles
book "Arming America" and how it affects interpretations of the
Second Amendment -- along with discussion of its general
reliability -- on this list, some may be interested in the following:

This story in the Boston Globe reports that Emory University is
requiring Michael Bellesiles to reply to criticisms of his work.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/276/living/University_asks_histo
rian_to_defend_his_research_on_gun_ownership_book+.shtml

If this URL is too long you can go to
http://www.boston.com/globe/living
Excerpt:
"Bellesiles's book argued that few Americans had owned guns in
early America, and that more than half of those that were owned
were old or broken. The book set off a storm of protest by gun-
owner organizations, but independent scholars alsoraised serious
questions about the veracity of Bellesiles's research. The Globe
story confirmed allegations that San Francisco probate records,
which Bellesiles had cited in his book as one of his sources, had
been destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. It also confirmed
that an article by Bellesiles on his Web site, defending his work,
misstated the contents of some 18th-century Vermont probate
records."

Prof. Glenn Harlan Reynolds
College of Law, University of Tennessee
1505 W. Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN  37996-1810

Attempt no more good than the people can bear.  --Thomas Jefferson