it wasn't just the slaves, though. i've gotten push back for talking about "communists" in the eighteenth century, and i half agree, but they certainly weren't liberals; they were peasants looking mostly for land reforms. i guess the difference between an african slave and a european serf at this point was sort of blurry, anyways. they had the same masters and the same goals, which is why the american elite had to invent racism to get them in conflict with each other.

the other reason there is a second amendment is that the elites thought it better to let the settlers kill each other in fits of passion than be controlled by a commander that would distribute arms in order to kill them. put another way, it was meant to prevent the monopolization of arms by revolutionary factions.

but, it was largely about controlling labour.

so, when you see these militia groups working with the cops, you should not be surprised. you do not need to conjure up imagery of brown shirts, or references to hitler. this is what america always was.

it is your visions of america as something different than this that need to be adjusted.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/13890-the-second-amendment-was-ratified-to-preserve-slavery