Race, Rights, and Rifles - The Origins of the Nra and Contemporary Gun Culture

An eye-opening examination of the ties between American gun culture and white male supremacy from the American Revolution to today. One-third of American adults-approximately 86 million people-own firearms. This is not just for protection or hunting. Although many associate gun-centric ideology with individualist and libertarian traditions in American political culture, Race, Rights, and Rifles shows that it rests on an equally old but different foundation. Instead, Alexandra Filindra shows that American gun culture can be traced back to the American Revolution when republican notions of civic duty were fused with a belief in white male supremacy and a commitment to maintaining racial and gender hierarchies. Drawing on wide-ranging historical and contemporary evidence, Race, Rights, and Rifles traces how this ideology emerged during the Revolution and became embedded in America's institutions, from state militias to the National Rifle Association (NRA). Utilizing original survey data, Filindra reveals how many White Americans -including those outside of the NRA's direct orbit-embrace these beliefs, and as a result, they are more likely than other Americans to value gun rights over voting rights, embrace antidemocratic norms, and justify political violence.

About the author

Alexandra Filindra is associate professor of political science at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Product details

• Authors: Alexandra Filindra
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.09.2023
• EAN: 9780226828763
• ISBN: 978-0-226-82876-3
• No. of pages: 368
• Series: Chicago Studies in American Politics
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; military history, HISTORY / United States / General, HISTORY / Military / Weapons, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / National, Politics & government, United States of America, USA, History of the Americas, Central / national / federal government, Ordnance, weapons technology, Weapons and equipment