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Good research. As an aside there was an interesting exhibition at the British Library last year on the Magna Carta, and it showed how the Magna Carta influenced subsequent laws, bills, acts, etc. around the world. There was a discussion of the former colonies, and while bringing some variant/derivative of the Magna Carta to those regions was at the time seen as beneficial in helping them become more 'civilised', it was later viewed in a negative light by having served as a way of imposing colonial control.
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Also, when the Constitution was written, it made the formation of a standing army unconstitutional. The congress were concerned it could be used by the government as an instrument of tyranny, as they saw the British Army. They envisaged a continuation of the use of militias, so arming bears was a necessity. Once they decided they should have an army, and changed the Constitution to allow it, one could argue the 2nd Ammendment effectively became redundant
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That, but also the fact that just over ten years previously they had literally defeated (what they saw as) an oppressive government, with the help of a militias and basically citizen soldiers.
John Locke had influenced the 1689 Bill of Rights, but was also a huge influence on Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, writers of the US Declaration of Independence and the US Bill of Rights respectively, so there definitely is a lot of influence and overlap, but it also stemmed from (very) recent experience.
Brief version of something it takes me 4 months to teach in detail: after the British passed the Coercive Acts to punish American colonists for the Boston Tea Party, one of which prevented the Massachussetts Assembly from meeting, they set up an extra-legal assembly in Suffolk County, outside of Boston. This passed the Suffolk Resolves, which was then ratified by the First Continental Congress, a meeting of 12 of the 13 colonies which later declared independence. One of the Suffolk Resolves' articles was recommending each state raises a militia in case of further oppression by the British. It was one of these armed, 'well-regulated' militia groups that clashed with Britain at Lexington Green in April 1775, and the rest is 'merica.
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boristrump
Cutthroat_Jake
tbc
@Stonehedge
Just did some digging about the history of the 2nd amendment.
It was likely lifted from the English Bill of Rights that is most notable for separating the monarchy from parliament but also granted the right to all civilians to bear arms. At the time, only Catholics were allowed to carry a sword so the idea was to allow protestants to be armed also. It was a statement of religious equality.
They didn't even start using firearms in a widespread way for another 150 years ffs.