About Clayton E. Cramer
Clayton E. Cramer is a historian and author whose research on early American gun ownership and weapon laws has become a standard reference. His books include For the Defense of Themselves and the State (1994), Concealed Weapon Laws of the Early Republic (1999) and Armed America (2007), which documents how common firearms were in colonial and early America.
Cramer is best known for checking the footnotes of Michael Bellesiles’ Arming America, a prize-winning book claiming guns were rare in early America. He found misquotations, altered dates and changed statute texts. An Emory University investigation followed, Bellesiles resigned in 2002, and Columbia University revoked the book’s Bancroft Prize. Cramer’s research has been cited by federal courts, including in United States v. Emerson (1999), and informed the debate around District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago.
Key Facts
- 1994: Publishes For the Defense of Themselves and the State
- 1995: Co-authors “Shall Issue” on concealed carry permit laws with David Kopel
- 1999: Publishes Concealed Weapon Laws of the Early Republic
- 2000: Reviews Arming America in National Review, flagging its errors
- 2002: Arming America’s author resigns from Emory; the Bancroft Prize is revoked
- 2007: Publishes Armed America
Books
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Credited as one of the Data Pioneers of the 2A Community on 2A Maps.
Sources
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