A View of the Constitution of the United States of America was written by Williams Rawle, LL.D. in 1829. The Senate writes of Rawle in Senate Document 2807; A report on the Second Amendment by the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 97rd Congress in February of 1982. Senator Orin Hatch wrote of Rawle,
The Jefferson papers in the Library of Congress show that both [St. George] Tucker and Rawle were friends of, and corresponded with, Thomas Jefferson. Their views are those of contemporaries of Jefferson, Madison and others, and are entitled to special weight.
Senator Hatch quoted A View of the Constitution of the United States of America concerning the Second Amendment. Concerning that amendment, Rawle writes
No clause in the Constitution could by a rule of construction be conceived to give to Congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretense by a state legislature. But if in blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment may be appealed to as a restraint on both
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