Books by Clayton E. Cramer

This provocative book debunks the myth that American gun culture was intentionally created by gun makers and demonstrates that gun ownership and use have been a core part of American society since our colonial origins. Revisionist historians argue that American gun culture and manufacturing are relatively recent developments.

Beginning with its origins in the English Civil War, the author traces the development in the US of "the right to keep and bear arms" through the Constitutional Convention, the ratification debates that followed, its inclusion in the Bill of Rights, to present controversy over gun control.

In this true story of our nation's love affair with firearms, Clayton E. Cramer debunks the myths and takes readers along a winding historical trail full of surprising revelations and riveting anecdotes, explaining the roots of America's gun culture.

An excellent resource on the changing population distribution of antebellum Black Americans, this book covers census data by region and state. The book opens with a discussion of the limitations of the census data, then goes on to provide an overview of the progress of manumission, abolition, and restrictions on black migration.

Cramer's work examines the motivations and legislative history behind the nation's first laws regulating the carrying of concealed deadly weapons and establishes a previously unexplored link between these laws and efforts to suppress dueling in the southern back country.