5 quotes from young Americans on a new union of states (and guns)

By Eve Flanigan

“First blow for liberty.” Engraving by A.H. Ritchie, 1822-1895. This print depicts a scene at the Battle of Lexington, 1775. (Photo: Library of Congress)
As Independence Day is upon us, painful and important divisions exist in the national conversation. People on all sides claim to know what America is all about.
It provides inspiration to look rearward, 200-plus years, and examine the words of those who shaped the new union. Much of what has been preserved in writing are heated defenses of one stance or another. Here are five quotes from back in the day, chosen for Guns.com for their references to arms.
1. “Our small arms equal to any in the world,” Thomas Paine, 1775
Where there are people, divided opinions are inevitable. Before the Revolutionary War, through his quill pen, circa 1775, Thomas Paine, bemoaned the delay of outright war in response to community skirmishes with, and atrocities by, British troops:
“In almost every article of defence (sic) we abound. Hemp flourishes even to rankness, so that we need not want cordage. Our iron is superior to that of other countries. Our small arms equal to any in the world. Cannon (sic) we can cast at pleasure. Saltpetre and gunpowder we are every

Source: Guns.com