The Rise of Post-World War II American Gun Cultures
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2006 Unholstered and Unquestioned: The Rise of Post- World War II American Gun Cultures Angela Frye Keaton University of Tennessee, Knoxville Recommended Citation Keaton, Angela Frye, "Unholstered and Unquestioned: The Rise of Post-World War II American Gun Cultures. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2006. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4263 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Angela Frye Keaton entitled "Unholstered and Unquestioned: The Rise of Post-World War II American Gun Cultures." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in History. Janis Appier, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: George White, Jr., G. Kurt Piehler Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) To the Graduate Council: I amsubmitting herewith a dissertation written by AngelaFrye Keaton entitled, "Unholstered andUnquestioned: The Rise of Post-World WarII American Gun Cultures." I have examinedthe finalpaper copy of this dissertation for formand content andrecommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillmentof the requirements forthe degreeof Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in History. - I , � I '1/L (JanisY�Appier, Ma� We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Acceptance forthe Council: Vice Chance an ean of Graduate Studies UNHOLSTEREDAND UNQUESTIONED: THE RISE OF POST-WORLD WAR II AMERICAN GUNCULTURES A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Angela Frye Keaton May2006 11 Copyright© 2006 by AngelaFrye Keaton All rights reserved. 111 DEDICATION For Kevin IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank all those who helped me complete my Doctor of Philosophy degree in History. I would like to thankDr. JanisAppier forher guidance, patience, and inspiration. I would like to express my gratitudeto Dr. George White, Jr., forhis kind words, optimism, and enthusiasm. In addition, I would like to thankDr. G. Kurt Piehler forhis resourcefulness and inventive suggestions. I wish to show appreciation to Dr. Lynn Champion forher support, encouragement, andfriendship. Finally, I would like to express my thanks toCharles Jackson Family andMr. andMrs. Edgar Wilson who fundedmy research.I am also the gratefulrecipient of the Yates Dissertation Fellowship fromthe University of Tennessee and the John Pine Memorial Awardfrom Phi Alpha Theta, both of whichmade much ofmy researchpossible. V ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examinethe historical roots of America's contemporary fascination withfirearms. America'sgun cultures reached new heights in the era after World WarII due to a renewed focus on the family and national heritage and a growingpreoccupation with defendingtraditional gender roles. In addition, the researchreveals that America does not have a monolithic gun culture. Instead, multiple subcultures that flourishedin the Cold Warera, including one stemming fromchildhood play, one amongrecreational gunners andsport hunter�, andone that flourishedas a result of civil andmilitary defense efforts. The dissertationbegins in 1945 withthe returnof theveterans and concludes with theassassination of President JohnF. Kennedy. This era is a critical moment in the development of the nation's gun cultures because it is the last period in which guns receive relatively no criticism andenjoy minimal state or federalregulation. The tragicdeath of President JohnF. Kennedy, however, becomes a catalyst for the rise of anti-guncampaigns and signals the end of the last "golden age" for guns. Historians have only studied firearmsin relation to the Second Amendment and violence. Unfortunately, studying guns only in the context of the Constitution and aggression has shed little lighton America's variousgun cultures. Moreover, the story of firearms is not entirely one of violence, particularly in the era immediately following World WarIl. Looking at firearmcultures only throughthis lens distortsAmerica's relationship with guns andthis project seeks to evaluate Americangun cultures with a new perspective. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: "There's Glamourin Guns" 1 Chapter 1: Backyard Desperadoes 16 Chapter 2: Good, CleanFun with Guns 48 Chapter 3: Hunting forIdentity 78 Chapter 4: The RussiansAre Coming! 117 Chapter 5: The End of the Golden Age 145 Bibliography 159 Vita 171 vu LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Boys at Play. 22 Figure 2. The Call of the West. 27 Figure 3. Kellogg's Cereal Gun Promotion. 30 Figure 4. Remington CompanyShooting Promotion. 53 Figure 5. Ad Showing How to Makea Boy a Manwith a Gun. 67 Figure 6. The Symbolism of Firearms. 68 Figure 7. The Hunter Returnsa Hero. 91 Figure 8. PennsylvaniaHunting Promotion. 102 Figure 9. SportswearPromotion. 103 Figure 10. Poking Fun at Manand Gun. 107 Figure 11. Ithaca FirearmsPromotion. 129 Figure 12. Cartoon Depicting Concernabout Firearmsafter the Assassination of President Kennedy. 148 1 INTRODUCTION: "THERE'S GLAMOURIN GUNS" In 1947, gun enthusiast StuartLudlum proclaimed, "There's glamourin guns ... there's something interest-provoking, attention-getting about a gun. Scenes of exciting adventure riffiethrough the imagination at the mere mention of certain guns: dueling pistols ...forty-five ... thirty-thirty ... automatic .. Winchester ... Springfield.. .. What pageantryand glamorous romance they cue on-stage in the theaterof the mind." 1 Ludlum' s declaration echoed the sentiments of manyAmericans in the post-World War II era. Widely regarded as devices fordefense, symbols of a mythic frontierpast, and instruments capable of instilling manliness, firearms held a place of reverence in the Americanpopular consciousness. Furthermore, using firearms forvarious activities as a response to the exigencies of the Cold War era consecrated thegun as an inherent and fundamentalpart of the American experience. But why have historiansignored such animportant and fascinating aspect of Americanhistory, especially given ongoing debates about firearms? The scant amountof historical scholarship on guns focuses only on the history of certain manufacturers, such as Colt andWinchester, or describes the guns' aesthetics, components, andhow they were made, rather thantheir social and cultural implications. 2 Daniel J.Boorstin argued in the late 1950s that the nation's gun culture was rooted in its colonial heritage. 1 Stuart D. Ludlum, Great Shooting Stories, illus. Ted Placek (NewYork: Doubleday and Company, 1947), xi. 2 Examplesof these sourcesinclude George R. Watrous, TheHistory of WinchesterFirearms, 1866- 1966, eds. ThomasE. Hall and Pete Kuhlhoff(NewHaven: Winchester WesternPress, 1966) and James Edsall Serven, Colt Cartridge Pistols: A Detailed Studyof ColtHand Arms,From 1868 Converted Caplocks ThroughAutomatics (SantaAna: J.E. Serven, 1952). In addition, Phil Patton, a leading writer about design and technology, brieflymentions the role of thegun in shaping America. He cites the Colt revolver as an importantearly firearm, asserting that Samuel Colt sold more thana gun; he also sold the confidenceand equality withwhich thegun imbued theuser. However Patton, like so many otherscholars discussing guns, failsto elaborate on a culture of firearms. 2 According to Boorstin, Americansacquired firearms based on need - for self-defenseand 3 food- and thus almost everyone had them. A generation afterBoorstin, Richard Slotkinasserted that frontiersmen forgedthrough the American wilderness with guns because the frontiercircumstance demandedfirearms possession. The frontier experience led frontiersmento believe that regeneration came through violence, and as a result, Slotkin asserts, Americanshave always been killers. 4 Although they wrote fifteen years apart, Boorstin and Slotkin both represented how guns were usually given a place of significancein the nation's historyand culture. Both studies are lacking, however. Boorstin's celebration of the gunsprang from his conception of a mythic past, while Slotkin's conception of firearmsplaced themsolely in the context of violence. Although scholars oftenaccepted without refutationthese argumentsfor the primacy of guns throughoutthe American experience, the notion that guns figured as a chief partof early Americanhistory has been called into question. Michael A. Bellesiles has argued that previous studies sufferedfrom presentism. He asserts that because guns have been such an essential part of America'sidentity forthe past few decades, historians made them prominent in the past, too. 5 Bellesiles's work seemed to offera compelling argument that a gun culture did develop, only not as earlyas Boorstin has claimed. Bellesiles argues that a gun culture did not develop in fullforce until afterthe Civil War. 3 Daniel J. Boorstin, TheAmericans: The Colonial Experience (NewYork: Random House,1958), 353. See also Richard Maxwell