Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture is a controversial 2000 book by Michael A. Bellesiles on American gun culture. The book is an expansion of a 1996 Journal of American History article by Bellesiles, and argues that guns were uncommon during peacetime in early America, and that a culture of gun ownership arose only much later. It initially won the prestigious Bancroft Prize, but later became the first book in that prize's history to have its award rescinded. The revocation occurred after Columbia University's Board of Trustees decided that Bellesiles had "violated basic norms of scholarship and the high standards expected of Bancroft Prize winners."
Read more about Arming America: The Origins Of A National Gun Culture: Thesis, Scrutiny, Emory Investigation and Resignation, Aftermath of The Scandal
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