Yes, at a later date, that was all true. But the subject of this thread isn't westward expansion and displacement of native peoples. That is certainly a thread worthy of having. The only reason this was brought up by me was to give what I believe was the genesis of the American view on owning guns. It lies in part, IMO, with the very concept of the populace never again being unarmed in the face of oppression. I believe it also lies in the frontier ideals of survival and hunting. This wasn't all that long ago. I was raised by depression era folks. Hunting and fishing for my Da and his brothers had to do with eating. And we, to this day, eat every single animal or fish we take. My father stressed humane kills, using everything you take from the woods, leaving the woods cleaner than you found it in terms of litter, never killing wantonly, and never wasting ammunition.

Mick