Penn. Const. Conv. 10-23-1837: "He believed that not only the right but the habit of wearing arms was essential to freemen, and to the preservation of the liberty of freemen...."

   The following quotation was added to this page on RightToBeArmed.org:

    “If we destroyed that which had been done, we should destroy the volunteer system; because by taking away their arms, we destroy also the martial spirit which they were sure to engender. It was true, as had been said, that the States were so jealous of the preservation of this martial spirit that after they had adopted the Constitution of the United States, as it now stood, they were not satisfied until they had secured an amendment which provided “that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” If we destroyed the militia system, we did not indeed take away the right of the people to bear arms, but we destroyed the inclination, the habit of wearing arms; and such was not his sentiment as to what ought to be the condition of things in a country like ours. He believed that not only the right but the habit of wearing arms was essential to freemen, and to the preservation of the liberty of freemen. This was the principle asserted in the Constitution of the United States; and if we did away with this, the effect would be to destroy the principle and the feeling together.”–Mr. Scott, Monday, October 23, 1837. [THE CONVENTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA TO PROPOSE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION COMMENCED AT HARRISBURG MAY 2 1837, VOL. IV. – Pg. 100]