"The Gunning of America," The Story Behind Fire Arms

By Scott Sutton

Miami University journalism student

Gun control is a hot topic in American politics.

The Second Amendment gives all Americans the right to bear arms, but what exactly that right entails has been debated for decades. Award winning author and historian Pamela Haag spoke at Miami University about her book “The Gunning of America: Business and the Making of American Gun Culture,” which explores this issue.

Haag delivered her talk to a packed house in Shideler Hall of about 100 Miami students and faculty.

“The Gunning of America” has been selected as a Washington Post “Notable Book” of 2016 and as a “Best Book of 2016” by Kikrus Reviews. Choice Magazine also named the book one of the Top 25 books on their list of Outstanding Academic Titles of 2016.

Having never owned or shot a gun, Haag dove in to the history behind fire arms in the United States.

Winchester's Influence

Oliver Winchester bought the Volcanic Repeating Arms Co. in 1857 which he later transformed in to the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. The company produced pistols and rifles and Haag says their most common customers were single individuals traveling through a wild country.

Haag says Winchester was never a fan of guns, calling them "a machine to throw balls," but he helped launch a new era in American culture.

“How a gun worked and made them feel was indescribable,” said Haag. "It really emphasized masculinity that even 14-year-old boys were yearning to buy guns.”

Guns And Emotion

Winchester's sales force consisted of missionaries who stressed the relationship between the consumer and the gun being very intimate, Haag says. The 19th century embodied the notion of emotion, soul, and the symbolic power of guns.

In the 20th century, Americans' understandings of guns became wrapped up with popular media. Haag says that from 1935-1965 Western movies took over Hollywood due to the popularity of fire arms.

The company sold to women customers as well as family packages. In 1912 the company sold 342,000 fire arms, the most they ever sold. This was partly propelled by one public figure's embrace of the company's guns.

"President Theodor Roosevelt loved his Winchesters so much that the company always tried to use him in advertisements," says Haag. "Roosevelt embodied how masculinity gets tied to the gun."

Junior Anna Redington says Haag's talk made her rethink her opinion on guns.

“I had never thought about guns in that big of a commercial sense,” said Reddington. “Personally I’m not a big gun girl, and I don’t really understand the fascination some people have with them but I think learning the history behind them gave me more respect for them."

Photo: The Gunning of America and the Author Pamela Haag -- Photo by Scott Sutton