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. * Proves that widespread gun ownership and gun violence existed in early America * Argues that revisionist claims of the last two decades about American gun culture are false * Provides a detailed account of how Revolutionary American governments contracted for guns * Shows how the American gun industry met private demand and led to an entirely new way of making almost all of the manufactured goods we take for granted today