Les Jones

Guns > Clayton Cramer, Ward Churchhill, and Michael Bellesiles

Clayton Cramer notes an interview with Ward Churchhill in which the beleaguered Churchhill defends Michael Bellesiles. Bellesiles wrote Arming America, which purported to show that gun ownership in America wasn't nearly as common as often believed.

Churchhill's honesty and knowledge, or lack of both, are about what you'd expect. Churchhill tries to paint Bellesiles' downfall as a smear campaign from the NRA, based on a single misunderstanding. Cramer correctly notes that it was mostly himself and James Lindgren who did the initial research that showed Bellesiles sources were either non-existent or said just the opposite of what Bellesiles claimed. That in turn led to an academic investigation that found massive fraud. As a result, the committee revoked Bellesiles' Bancroft Prize, something that's never happened before or since.

For a primer on Cramer's publications, and links to his Bellesiles work, see this old Gun Links post of mine.