Michael Bellesiles is the author of Arming America: Origins of a National Gun Culture, a book which "ignited passions on both sides of the gun control debate with its central argument: that guns were not a necessary and central part of the lives of colonial Americans. [1]
Columbia University awarded Prof. Bellesiles the prestigious Bancroft Prize in April 2001, but in December 2002, when critics of his assertion that gun ownership was rare in early America began checking his research, Bellesiles was accused of making up sources and data.
The university trustees took the unprecedented step of rescinding the prize for "violating basic norms of acceptable scholarly conduct". [1]
The criticisms led to an investigation by Emory University, where Bellesiles was a tenured professor of history. The investigation concluded that he was "guilty of unprofessional and misleading work." He resigned from Emory in October rather than face a demotion.
Through it all, Bellesiles has maintained that his work is sound. He said he plans to continue his fight to vindicate his theory about guns.
Bellesiles said he is a victim of intellectual lynching and that his book was drawn into America's heated debate over gun control.
Bellesiles said he was attacked by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and accused the NRA and its supporters of death threats, which forced his family to move from Atlanta, Ga., to an undisclosed location. Bellesiles said his teenage daughter had to legally change her name because of personal-security concerns.
Soft Skull Press has published a new version of the book.
The Bancroft Prize
Bellesiles defends his book
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