Historian Alexander Rose to visit NRA

Alexander Rose, a military historian and former journalist, visited the National Firearms Museum as part of his research for writing American Rifle: A Biography (FSB, 2008).

He returns to the Museum next month to talk about the book with Senior Curator Doug Wicklund. The NRA's Indoor Range will allow Wicklund and Rose to fire a variety of rifles.

Rose says his book draws on the words of soldiers, inventors, and presidents and encompasses the Revolution to the present day to present an "entertaining history of this most essential firearm and its place in American culture."

In an article titled "Who Put the Rifle into the National Rifle Association?" at the History News Network, Rose writes

Why is the National Rifle Association called the National Rifle Association? It seems an odd choice considering the organization's commitment to the Second Amendment, which refers broadly to "arms," not rifles, that require keeping and bearing. Wouldn't it make more sense for the NRA to call itself the National Firearms Association or the National Gun Association? Rifle comes across as a little ... exclusionary. I mean, what about all those millions of pistol and shotgun owners?

At least that's what I naively thought before I began writing American Rifle: A Biography. As it happens, there are very sound reasons, rooted in its foundation in 1871, for the NRA's emphasis on rifles.

Continue reading the article here.

We'll be sure and catch up with Rose himself during his visit. Stay tuned!