It is the most famous gun duel in American history. You probably learned the headline and final score like every other kid in a U.S. school. But what was the trigger for the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel?

Truthfully, there were many triggers. The bloodshed from bearing Arms that day capped a history of hatred and bad blood between the two personal and political rivals. Meanwhile, the controversy continues.

Let’s go modern before we go back in time. Let’s apply the significance of the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel to current American politics. Imagine this scenario for just a moment:

Former Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner gets challenged to a deadly duel with Vice-President Joe Biden. The Vice-President would win the gunfight he picked, but not face prosecution. Think of the stink such a story would create today.

Alexander Hamilton

211 years ago next month, that’s just what happened with the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel. Hamilton was the well-known former Secretary of the Treasury. Burr was the sitting Vice-President beside President Thomas Jefferson. The VP challenged his arch-nemesis to a duel. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers, would not lower himself to decline.

Early morning on July 11, 1804, Hamilton, Burr, and witnesses rowed across the Hudson River from New York City. They went to the Heights of Weehawken, New Jersey, a popular spot for duels in those days. This was because even then in the year 1804 B.B. (before Bloomberg), New York was a more anti-gun state than others.

Aaron Burr

It was the same spot where in 1799, Aaron Burr had a duel with John Church, Hamilton’s brother-in-law. Bad guns blazing in that one. Neither went big. Both went home. In 1801, Hamilton’s son had no such luck. He was killed there in a duel by an ally of Burr.

Even the facts of the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel are disputed. This is because the witnesses gave themselves “plausible deniability.” They stood with their backs to the participants. No one saw exactly what happened. Opinions on the subject are like the right to bear Arms, everyone has them.

We do know Burr and Hamilton stood paces apart with Wogdon pistols. Some believe Hamilton gave himself the upper hand by choosing pistols with a larger barrel than traditional dueling pistols, knowing they had a secret hair-trigger. The plan backfired because Hamilton seems to have shot first and missed.

Burr then pulled the trigger on his firearm hitting Hamilton who died the next day of one gunshot wound. In his memoirs, Aaron Burr claimed he provided the pistols used with Hamilton.

Why the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr Duel Happened

Pick your favorite reason. The former friends built a feud which had decades worth of ammo. It was far more baggage than either could carry in his arms or rucksacks. Below are some of the triggers we know to help you draw your own conclusions:

• Both men served as officers under General George Washington in the Continental Army. Burr was more of a war hero. However, he allegedly got on George’s bad side for snooping on his personal communication. As president, Washington shot down Burr’s request to be made a general. Hamilton became Washington’s closest advisor.

• Alexander Hamilton was the powerful “Alpha Dog” in New York politics. He successfully set up his father-in-law, Philip Schuyler, for a U.S. Senate seat. In his bid for re-election, Schuyler was opposed by New York Attorney General Aaron Burr. Burr won the election handily, humiliating both Schuyler and Hamilton.

• Hamilton got involved in the first big sex scandal in American politics. He admitted an affair with the younger, Maria Reynolds, after word got out from Reynolds’ husband who was blackmailing Hamilton. Of all the possible lawyers, she was represented by Aaron Burr in her divorce.

• The 1800 presidential election got ugly. This was the debut of the nation’s two political parties. John Adams, the Federalist, was seeking re-election against Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican nominee, whose running mate was Aaron Burr.

• Jefferson won, but the U.S. Constitution at the time did not distinguish between President and Vice-President in the Electoral College voting. Jefferson and Burr were tied. The Federalist-controlled House of Representatives was left to decide the election.

• Most in the Federalist Party saw Jefferson as the bigger enemy. But not Alexander Hamilton. He hated Burr more than Jefferson, whom he battled in Washington’s cabinet. As a leader, Hamilton was convincing enough to get Jefferson elected by Congress instead of Burr.

• In 1804, Burr was dumped by Jefferson as his running mate. So, while he was Vice-President he ran for Governor of New York. Hamilton worked hard to get Burr beaten…again.

• Following the election, Hamilton did some trash talking about Burr’s lack of character in a newspaper article. Burr demanded an apology. Hamilton refused, setting the stage for the duel.

Aaron Burr was indicted for murder, but was not arrested. Bringing it back to modern times, if an Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel were to take place today, it seems these two arch-enemies would happily stand before with each other with a loaded AR-15, and let the best man win.

Don’t fight it. Take part in the Ares Armor Inc. Countdown to Father’s Day.

We hope you have been enjoying the Ares Armor Inc. Countdown to Father’s Day. Paying tribute to our Founding Fathers is a highlight for those of us who honor the U.S. Constitution, and the great nation it protects.

Much has been written and said about the courageous men who answered the Call to Arms against Great Britain. Their pursuit of American independence was by no means trivial. But this page sure is. Today we offer a Fun Friday filled with Founding Fathers Trivia.

Founding Fathers Trivia

When the U.S. Post Office was created in 1775, Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General. One of the writings he mailed was an essay encouraging research by America’s scholars to find a solution for “improving the odor of human flatulence.”

Franklin and George Washington were featured on the first stamps issued in the U.S. in 1847. Franklin appeared on a red brown 5-cent stamp. Washington was seen on a black 10-cent stamp.

We cannot tell a lie. George Washington was not a “moonshiner.” However, at his Mount Vernon, Virginia estate, he was a legal distiller of whiskey. The business was very profitable, and probably helped some in soothing Washington’s lifelong aching teeth and gums.

Charles Lee

Washington’s oft-considered Second in Command, Charles Lee, had previously served in the British Army and Polish Army. Because of his experience, Lee believed he should have led the Continental Army, and was bitter he was not chosen. He said this about General George Washington, “Washington is not fit enough to command a Sergeant’s Guard.” Lee was wrong. He was captured by the British during the Revolutionary War. He was later court-martialed for retreating right into Washington’s troops at the Battle of Monmouth.

John Adams is the only U.S. President elected as a member of the Federalist Party. He was given the less than flattering nickname, “His Rotundity.” It came from him being overweight, and mocked him because he wanted an extravagant name for the Commander-in-Chief such as, “His Majesty The President.”

Rabblerouser Samuel Adams played a key role in organizing the Boston Tea Party. During a meeting being led by him, attendees left to actively participate in the historic protest against British taxes.

Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. President was very serious about playing the violin. Back in 1778, he didn’t appreciate the way American music was trending saying it was heading toward a “state of deplorable barbarism.” Surely, he would be holding his ears if around today.

John Hancock Signature

With his large, flamboyant signature, John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. Only he and Charles Thomson signed the infamous document on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence was not officially signed by most delegates until August 2, 1776, one month after the Continental Congress agreed to break free from Great Britain. By the way, Hancock’s “John Hancock” was not on the U.S. Constitution.

Robert Morris - Financier of the American Revolution

Wealthy banker Robert Morris is known for securing the financial backing for the Revolutionary War. When his close friend, George Washington became president, Philadelphia was the nation’s capital with no White House. So, Morris invited the First Family to move into his mansion. His family lived next door. In later years, Morris made some bad real estate investments and died in poverty. That’s awful. But Robert Morris may hold an even more painful piece of Founding Fathers Trivia. Some say he died shortly after pulling the trigger on an unusual solution for his painful urinary tract infection. His attempt called for using a whale bone from one of his wife’s corsets in an attempt to clear a blockage in his penis. A firearm would have been quicker and easier. Ouch.

Long before Bill Clinton, Gary Hart, Anthony Weiner, and others, Alexander Hamilton was the first prominent American politician caught in a sex scandal with a younger woman, Maria Reynolds. Her husband found out. Rather than dueling with Hamilton, he blackmailed him. When Reynolds eventually got in trouble, he spilled the beans on Alexander Hamilton in an effort to save himself. News of the affair had America up in arms. The sex scandal rocked the Federalist Party, and ruined Hamilton’s hopes of becoming president.

We leave this version of Founding Fathers Trivia with this item. As you are enjoying Father’s Day 2015 perhaps with a cold and frosty Samuel Adams, you can debate whether it is in fact his face on the bottle, or the more handsome, Paul Revere. You may have to have a couple to make an educated guess.

Best wishes for a safe and Happy Father’s Day weekend from Ares Armor Inc.

Today in our Countdown to Father’s Day 2015, we remember some of the lesser known guns who answered the Call to Arms, and quest for freedom against Great Britain, and for establishing the United States of America. Click to see yesterday’s part 1 piece on forgotten Founding Fathers.

Here are three more Founding Fathers who were a part of the Constitutional Convention:

John Langdon

This patriot was born in 1741 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The son of a farmer, his education was limited. But John Langdon became who he wanted to be. He was successful in the mercantile business, and was an active supporter of the American Revolutionary War and pursuit of independence.

John Langdon took part in the seizure and confiscation of British munitions from the Portsmouth fort in 1774. Throughout the war, he served his post as a colonel in the New Hampshire militia. In 1777, Langdon paid for and planned General John Stark’s trek from New Hampshire to Saratoga, New York against British General John Burgoyne. Langdon was there in command of his militia unit when Burgoyne and his troops surrendered.

Langdon was also active politically on both the state and national levels. He held a seat in the Continental Congress for three different terms. Because New Hampshire couldn’t or wouldn’t pay for him and Nicholas Gilman to attend the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the two arrived in Philadelphia weeks late.

Langdon still played a key role. He spoke often during the debates and served on the committee which reached a compromise on the matter of slavery.

From 1789 to 1801, John Langdon was a U.S. Senator. During that time he switched from the Federalist Party to the Democratic-Republican Party. In 1801, Langdon turned down being the Secretary of the Navy under President Jefferson. Starting in 1805, he spent six years serving as Governor of New Hampshire.

In 1812, John Langdon passed on being the Democratic-Republican Vice-Presidential nominee. Instead, he enjoyed 7 years of retirement with his wife and daughter before he died at the age of 78.

John Lansing

As Founding Fathers, John Langdon and John Lansing had similar names. Yet, in real life there were more than a few letters difference between them. Lansing was one of the many Founding Fathers who had a lucrative law practice. Born in 1754 in Albany, New York, he and his wife had 10 children together, but 5 died as infants.

Serving as Mayor of Albany, John Lansing was part of the New York delegation at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. He became disillusioned because he thought the assembly was exceeding its instructions in writing a whole new U.S. Constitution.

After 6 weeks, Lansing and Robert Yates, his fellow New York delegate left the convention. The next year, at the New York ratifying convention, Lansing continued to oppose the Constitution.

Lansing spent most of the next 25 years in a judicial career in New York. John Lansing experienced the most mysterious of all Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention. In 1829, he left a New York City hotel to mail some letters. No trace of him was ever found again.

Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr.

Born in North Carolina in 1758, Spaight was orphaned at 8 years old, and sent to Ireland. He graduated from Glasgow University in Scotland before returning to North Carolina in 1778, and joining the American Revolutionary War.

Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr. also served in the Continental Congress from 1783-85. He was just 29 when he attended the Constitutional Convention as a member of the North Carolina delegation.

Spaight was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democratic-Republican and remained in Congress until 1801. He fought to repeal the Alien and Sedition Acts, and backed Jefferson in the bitter election of 1800.

In 1802, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr. was shot and killed in a duel with political rival, John Stanly of the Federalist Party. He was just 44, and left behind a wife and three children. History remembers the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel so much more than the firearms fight of Spaight vs. Stanly. It often leaves Spaight one of the forgotten Founding Fathers.

There’s not much time left in the Countdown to Father’s Day.

History remembers the big guns. So do you. Names like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison (Father of the Constitution) may forever be credited for answering the Call to Arms against Great Britain. But America also has some forgotten Founding Fathers.

Perhaps, these courageous men were never really widely known. Nonetheless, as supporters of the U.S. Constitution, Ares Armor Inc. provides a quick look at the lives and times of some of the forgotten Founding Fathers.

Abraham Baldwin

He was born in 1754 in the town of Guilford, Connecticut. He was the son of blacksmith who had 12 children from 2 different wives. Henry, his half-brother, became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Abraham Baldwin graduated from Yale. He became an ordained minister, and later served in the Continental Army as a chaplain. Next, Baldwin earned a law degree and moved to Georgia. He sat in the Continental Congress, and quietly attended the Constitutional Convention. As a member of the Committee on Postponed Matters, Abraham Baldwin helped devise a solution for the issue of representation between small and large states.

He was elected to the U.S. Congress, serving the final 18 years of his life. An opponent of Alexander Hamilton, and ally of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, he spent ten years as a member of the House of Representatives. The next 8 years he served as a U.S. Senator.

Abraham Baldwin is one of the few forgotten Founding Fathers who never married. He died in 1807 at age 53.

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer

The man with the longest name of the Founding Fathers hailed from Maryland. Born in 1723, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer was of Swedish and English descent. He served as President of the first Maryland State Senate from 1777 to 1780. He also held a seat in the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1782.

Mr. Jenifer was one of the 29 delegates who attended nearly every session of the Constitutional Convention. He backed James Madison often, but spoke little himself.

A friend of George Washington, too, Jenifer remained single his entire life. He died at his estate near Annapolis in 1790.

Caleb Strong

Born in 1745 in Northampton, Massachusetts, Caleb Strong went on to graduate from Harvard with highest honors by age 19. He chose to become a lawyer like many other delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

Strong was a Federalist who favored a strong central government. As one of the Founding Fathers, he missed his chance to sign the U.S. Constitution because he got home due to an illness in his family.

In 1789, Caleb Strong was elected as one of Massachusetts’ first U.S. senators. He was always a strong supporter of the Washington administration.

He became Governor of Massachusetts, and won re-election every year until 1807. In 1812, he returned to being the governor and kept the job until he retired in 1816.

Caleb Strong, the Federalist candidate, defeated Elbridge Gerry to become Governor of Massachusetts in 1800. Despite the growing strength of the Democratic party in the state, Strong won reelection annually until 1807. In 1812 he regained the governorship, once again over Gerry, and retained his post until he retired in 1816. He and his wife, Sarah, had nine children. Caleb Strong passed away in 1819.

Tomorrow, as the Ares Armor Inc. Countdown to Father’s Day continues, we will remember more forgotten Founding Fathers.

Photo: GeorgeWashington’s Teeth at his Mount Vernon Estate

Knock on wood. America was lucky to have George Washington as its first Commander-in-Chief, and President. The most famous of the Founding Fathers to answer the Call to Arms, he was the only U.S. President elected unanimously in electoral votes. It also seems near unanimous that George Washington’s teeth were made of wood. They were not.

Let’s quickly take a bite out of history and some myths, shall we?

Born in 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, he grew to stand 6-feet, two inches tall, and weigh 200 pounds. George was truly a big gun, a strong and imposing leader. Sadly, for him and the nation, George Washington’s teeth were not very strong. He suffered from debilitating dental problems his entire adult life. It might explain why cream of peanut soup, and mashed sweet potatoes with coconut, were among his favorite dishes.

George Washington’s teeth troubles were documented in his diary, and many letters written throughout his life. In 1756, at 24 years old, he paid a Doctor Watson five shillings to have a tooth removed. Washington’s records show numerous other payments for dentists, toothache medication, teeth scrapers, cleaning solutions, and more. His writings regularly made reference to his lost teeth, aching teeth, painful gums, and poorly fitting dentures. (His wife Martha Washington also had dentures).

It is believed rumors spread about George Washington’s teeth being wooden because people noticed his dentures were stained. They possibly appeared to have a wooden complexion.

George Washington’s teeth were actually made of parts from various materials other than wood. They included hippopotamus ivory, bone, brass screws, lead, gold metal wiring, and even human teeth. One of Washington’s entries shows he purchased 9 teeth from “Negroes” for 122 shillings. It is unknown what he did with them. But, the practice of buying teeth from slaves was common at the time for affluent Americans who had dental problems.

President George Washington’s Teeth

Check that. Make it tooth - as in singular. By the time he was inaugurated in 1789 as the first President of the United States, George Washington had only one tooth remaining. In 1796, that last tooth was pulled. In good spirit, George allowed his dentist, Dr. John Greenwood, to keep it as a memento. The dentist wore the tooth in a small glass display hung from his watch chain.

President George Washington’s teeth may have been bothering him so much when he was re-elected, it could be the reason why his second inaugural speech lasted only two minutes. Historians have noted how George was very self-conscious about the appearance of his teeth, and the makeshift dentures greatly diminished his desire for public speaking, and ability to do so successfully.

Notice how you never see this legendary Founding Father smiling. George Washington’s teeth were the reason. The paintings of him later in life show changes in the shape of his mouth and jaw. George Washington was well aware of this as his dental issues grew more severe. In a letter to Dr. Greenwood in 1797, he wrote about his dentures saying they were, “already too wide, and too projecting for the parts they rest upon; which causes both upper, and under lip to bulge out, as if swelled.”

The pain of George Washington’s teeth and the injustice he felt from the Great Britain, gave him more than enough reason to bear Arms against the British Army. You can’t help but wonder what further greatness would have been achieved if it weren’t for the constant troubles with George Washington’s teeth.

We cannot tell a lie. George probably would have loved the new Ares Armor Inc. Founding Father patch.

“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” - John Adams

Those who truly love liberty, know they can be hated for it. Founding Father John Adams loved liberty, and freedom of speech. He so called things like he saw them, it’s a wonder this patriot ever became a U.S. President.

Born in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1735, John Adams used his family’s Puritan heritage to lift him to success. He was a Harvard graduate, who then earned a law degree, and became a top notch constitutional lawyer.

His second cousin, Samuel Adams, was a very popular leader. He also was kissing cousins with Abigail Smith, his third cousin. Abigail Adams became his wife and closest advisor.

John Adams Taking on the British.

John Adams made a name for himself by legally opposing the 1765 Stamp Act. He declared it invalid after it was rammed down the throats of Americans by the British Parliament. Adams’ argument became the model and the voice for all colonies to oppose it.

John Adams Taking on Boston.

Fast forward five years. Picture yourself in Massachusetts as the blood of colonists is boiling with anti-British sentiment. The 1770 Boston Massacre takes place. British soldiers raise arms and kill civilians. An American defending those Brits would be like representing ISIS members today in U.S. Courts.

John Adams was the lawyer for the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre. He did the unpopular because he believed in the protection of innocence and the right to counsel.

Adams’ legal defense got six of the soldiers acquitted. Two others charged with murder for firing their guns directly into the crowd were only convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter. Adams put his career on the line for these “enemies” who could only pay him a small fee.

Amazingly, this same man later played perhaps the key role in convincing the Founding Fathers in the Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain. He also worked with Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams Taking on Slavery.

Slavery in America was not always a black and white issue. It was widely accepted in the South. Others in the colonies who were against it or unsure, often kept quiet on slavery. John Adams (and Abigail Adams) were publicly proud of the fact they never owned slaves by choice.

During the American Revolution, Adams tabled his beliefs on slavery politically. He knew the North and South would become divided at a time when unity was mandatory for independence from Great Britain. But when the time was right, he got slavery abolished in Massachusetts in about 1780 by writing it into the state’s Constitution.

John Adams Taking on the Founding Fathers

Safe to say, he had more than a few political opponents. However, he also contributed greatly to the success of the United States of America by speaking out in support of others for key leadership positions. In 1775, it was he who nominated George Washington for the role of Commander-in-Chief. In 1800, he then nominated John Marshall for Chief Justice of the United States, who became known for establishing the power of the Judicial Branch of government with his decades of protection of the U.S. Constitution.

He was overweight and often seen as pompous. These things earned him the nickname, “His Rotundity.” Still, he was elected the Second President of the United States in 1796. President Adams at this time faced strong public opposition led by Alexander Hamilton. Adams thought one of his greatest accomplishments was resisting the Call to Arms and keeping the U.S. out of a full-scale war with France.

On a lighter note, John Adams was the first Vice-President of the United States, and the first to call out the lame duck job for what it was. In a letter to his beloved wife Abigail, he wrote, “”My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”

Have you seen the new Founding Father patch from Ares Armor Inc.? John Adams argued for your right to have one.

Today is Flag Day. We celebrate the sacred Stars and Stripes today. Dad’s big day is one week away. We hope you are enjoying our Countdown to Father’s Day 2015, and the tribute to our nation’s Founding Fathers.

If you have been following this series, you can’t help but come away with a certain powerful realization or confirmation. The exact government policies and practices America’s Founding Fathers were dead set on preventing, are the very scenarios we are now facing with the current White House administration. On Flag Day 2015, storm winds are blowing her in the wrong direction.

The Founding Fathers insisted on a system of checks and balances when they drafted and ratified the U.S. Constitution. The federal government’s decision making authorities would be distributed and shared between three branches. The states would maintain rights, too.

We The People mandated the people have powers and Constitutional Rights in a truly free country. After all, the Founding Fathers and thousands of other colonists fought bravely for their freedom. They vowed never to build a new nation for themselves, their families, and fellow Americans which would empower the government to take back the rights of the people.

The Founding Fathers carefully packed the U.S. Constitution with laws to serve the citizens as eternal safeguards. No power-wielding president or court could go rogue or turn dictator. The people could not be taken back into tyranny like with Great Britain.

Sadly and angrily as we know today, those Constitutional safeguards are now being stretched and stomped on with President Obama trying to circumvent Congress and the people to push his own anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment agenda. Gun control is part of his control.

“The Founding Fathers made a very important decision to include the right to bear Arms for all Americans,” said Bryce Stirlen, CEO of Ares Armor Inc. “They believed the American people should bear Arms to avoid tyranny, and to protect our borders, our families, friends, and neighbors. They knew fundamentally, nearly 250 years ago that a country armed has freedom, safety, and security. Those wise, courageous men looking into the future had the foresight to know the most simple principle – all of the people should have the power to defend their own home. And if you think of America as a home shared by all of us, then it is all of our responsibility to protect and defend it.”

#WakeUpAmerica.

The hashtag with this important warning is a rapidly rising one on Twitter, a modern technology for Freedom of Speech. People are resonating with the idea of waking America as they should on this Flag Day, and every day.

History can repeat itself…if the people allow it.

Under President Obama, the gun control debate is louder than ever. Americans on both sides of the issue are growing more passionate, and more divided. Many people think they are supporting the president in gun control. Little do they realize they are acting against the support of We The People.

You see, whether or not you like guns…whether you exercise your Constitutional Right to bear Arms to defend yourself, your home, and your country (or blindly hope someone else does it for you) here is a simple fact:

The Second Amendment protects and preserves the First Amendment. The right to bear Arms protects and preserves your right to free speech. Without 2A, the people can be easily silenced, bullied, and stripped of their freedoms.

Ares Armor Inc. CEO Bryce Stirlen was raised in a home where guns were allowed, but not ammunition. Bryce’s father as a very young man had a friend die in his arms, a casualty of a freak hunting accident. The incident haunted Bryce’s father who passed away two years ago. Still, he allowed his sons to collect antique guns and nurtured respect for them.

Bryce’s inspiration for firearms, the military, and our Founding Fathers came through his grandfather, Clement E. “Buck” Humphrey, who was a World War II hero. Bryce was physically disqualified from following his grandfather into military service, but today he proudly and passionately works with a veteran-driven team at Ares Armor Inc.

“When the government tries to take away our Second Amendment Rights, it makes me furious,” says Bryce. “I know how my grandfather would have felt if he were alive. I am reminded of this every day at work when I see it in the eyes of the veterans on our team who courageously fought for our country and freedoms. They are disillusioned and disgusted by this assault on the Constitution.

To allow some bully or some structure to control you on what they think is right, means your freedoms will be gone. There was much blood spilled in order for the U.S. Constitution to be written by our Founding Fathers. Everything in that document is only safe and secure if Americans have right to protect themselves and say ‘NO.’

On Flag Day 2015, look at how President Obama has become Dictator-in-Chief. Does any American believe that won’t become a trend, or transition into what our country will become if our rights are taken away?”

Food for thought in remembering our Founding Fathers on Flag Day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s not waste time debating whether or not size matters. Instead, let us set our sights on Founding Father, James Madison. He was a small man in size. Yet, he was and still is a giant figure in American history, and gun rights.

James Madison got the title “Father of the Constitution” and become the 4^th President of the United States by coming up BIG.

American Pharoah just won horse racing’s Triple Crown. Jockey-sized Founding Father, James Madison, would have been big enough (or small enough) to ride him. Madison stood just 5-feet 4-inches tall, and weighed less than 100 pounds.

In addition to being the smallest Founding Father and U.S. President, he was also soft-spoken. His nickname was a non-intimidating, “Jemmy.” Regardless, what he lacked in size and machismo, Madison made up for in smarts, effort, political savvy, and a patriotic spirit.

Photo: Madison’s Montpelier Estate in Virginia.

James Madison was born in 1751 to large plantation owners in Orange County, Virginia. He was the oldest of twelve children. He went on to become a student of history and government, Hebrew, philosophy, and more. He graduated from The College of New Jersey (later Princeton University). He also studied law and was well-read in it, but never wanted a law degree.

Eventually, Madison inherited the large estate in Virginia known as Montpelier. He was a slave owner with more than a hundred slaves working on the plantation. It was said by a former slave of his that Madison never hit any of them or ever allowed such treatment.

In 1775, he was commissioned as Colonel of the Orange County Militia. Considered too small to bear Arms and serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, he ultimately used politics as his pathway to fight for liberty against the British.

James Madison was very close friends with fellow Virginia statesman, Thomas Jefferson. Eight years older, Jefferson made Madison his protégé and they remained political allies. The two wild and crazy guys actually got arrested together once for taking a Sunday carriage ride. Even one of the bedrooms at Jefferson’s Monticello was named, “Mr. Madison’s Room.”

Early in life, Madison earned valuable experience for framing the U.S. Constitution. When he was just 25 years old, he helped greatly in drafting the State of Virginia’s constitution in 1776. He was a leader in the Virginia Assembly, and also served as a member of the Continental Congress.

James Madison was a power delegate impressing the assembly during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. He was a major contributor in writing the infamous Federalist essays with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Thus, he played a central role in the Constitution of the United States being ratified.

Even though he was a president, James Madison is best known for his work as a legislative workhorse member of Congress. His name remains alive today at the heart of the gun debate in America. This is because Madison is recognized as the champion and author of the Bill of Rights and its loved and hated Second Amendment:

“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Later in his life, Madison humbly resisted the credit for being crowned “Father of the Constitution,” the most important legal document in our nation’s history. He said the U.S. Constitution was not “the off-spring of a single brain,” but “the work of many heads and many hands.”

James Madison’s leadership also helped to form the development of Democratic-Republican Party, or Jeffersonian Party as it was also known. Madison served as Secretary of State for President Thomas Jefferson. In this position, he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon and France. This doubled the size of our country.

As the 4^th President of the United States from 1809-1817, James Madison succeeded Thomas Jefferson and continued with his agenda out of loyalty. Unfortunately, his presidency was marred by the War of 1812, and the British setting fire to the White House and U.S. Capitol. Still, he was narrowly re-elected to a second term. The job you didn’t want was being Madison’s Vice-President. Both of his died in office.

His wife, Dolley Payne Todd Madison, was the toast of Washington, DC, and may actually have been more popular than her husband. She crafted the role of the nation’s First Lady, having done practice run appearances for President Jefferson, whose wife had died.

James Madison was the last remaining Founding Father when he passed away in 1836. He was 85. A note opened after his death in 1836, may have showed his true love of country. In it he wrote, “The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.”

Have you seen the new Founding Father patch from Ares Armor Inc.? We couldn’t get one to James Madison in time. But you can still get one in time for Father’s Day 2015.

What was the real stance of America’s Founding Fathers on firearms? We’ll betcha a crisp Ben Franklin, or at least a cold and frosty Samuel Adams, you’ll find this an entertaining and informative read.

Ahh, the Founding Fathers on firearms. As you know too well already, guns is a loaded subject with a super easy trigger for debate and heated arguments. More than 200 years later, the Second Amendment #2A has been targeted repeatedly. For the most part, its carefully written and approved legally binding words and implications have withstood the test of time.

Article [II] (Amendment 2 - Bearing Arms)

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

If you are able to look at it objectively, the Second Amendment seems pretty clear. In fact, if you have an open mind, the Second Amendment has the power to become even more crystal clear the more you read it.

However, much like the Holy Bible, when it comes to the subject of guns and bearing Arms, people often tend to interpret the meaning of the Founding Fathers based on their own personal beliefs and agendas. It’s a case of you say ammunition. I say ammo. (We’re not talking tomatoes here).

The “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison, and other real-life early American Heroes are no longer around to physically defend their opinions. Thus, the most honest, accurate, and respectful tribute we can do is to share what they are known to have said, word for word. So, let’s look truthfully now at some of the famous quotes of America’s Founding Fathers on firearms.

“To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of towns, counties, or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws.

- John Adams

“And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; or to raise standing armies, unless necessary for the defense of the United States, or of some one or more of them; or to prevent the people from petititioning, in a peaceable and orderly manner, the federal legislature, for a redress of grievances; or to subject the people to unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, papers or possessions.”

– Samuel Adams

“Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?”

– Patrick Henry

“No Freeman shall ever be disbarred from the use of arms. Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion in private self-defense. A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves. They include all men capable of bearing arms. To preserve liberty is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms and be taught alike how to use them.”

– Thomas Jefferson

“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves… and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms.”

– Richard Henry Lee

“Americans [have] the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust their people with arms.”

– James Madison

“That the people have a Right to mass and to bear arms; that a well-regulated militia composed of the Body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper natural and safe defense of a free state, that standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.”

- George Mason

“The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world not destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside … Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them … the weak will become the prey of the strong.”

- Thomas Paine

“It may be laid down, as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency.”

– George Washington

These quotes from America’s Founding Fathers on firearms are powerful reminders of their honest and honorable, “We The People” mindset and intention. They clearly show men forming a new, national government whereby the people would have powers, including the right to bear Arms. They openly believed guns were good, an equalizer, and a necessity for a free state.

To a man, many of our nation’s Founding Fathers personally answered the Call to Arms against British tyranny. It is the foundation for why they strongly believed “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

They had a vision for a nation with a federal government which would fair and just because it was afraid of the people, not the people living in fear of their government. The quotes of the Founding Fathers on firearms prove it.

Now you can prove your support with the new Founding Father patch from Ares Armor Inc.? It’s a little late for George and the gang. But it’s just in time for Father’s Day 2015.

Long before the 1787 Constitutional Convention, our Founding Fathers lived in fear. Most of them were educated and upper class affluent. This gave them good reason to be afraid of failure and losing it all. They were afraid of big brother Britain. They were afraid of being killed, and their loved ones being killed, too. Thank goodness for the one thing which scared them most of all.

Above all, our Founding Fathers were afraid of what life would be like if they chose NOT to join the American Revolution and fight for freedom, independence, and liberty. They were legendary examples of courage, bravery, and strength overcoming fear.

As they formed a new national government of “We The People,” America’s Founding Fathers were deathly afraid of centralized power. They’d been there and done that with Great Britain. They were united in the pledge they would never lower themselves to letting it happen again. They wisely created a system of checks and balances among three branches of government. It might be slow-moving and frustrating machine at times. Yet, it would serve as a safeguard against tyranny at all times.

The Founding Fathers put their lives and their livelihoods on the line for a chance to give life to the United States of America. By answering this Call to Arms, they didn’t set out to be immortal heroes. They simply stepped up to be leaders. Many of them did in fact hold positions of command in the Revolutionary War. Then, four-fifths of them did more public service as members of the Continental Congress.

A total of 70 delegates were appointed to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Only 55 were able to attend. The most famous absentees included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Hancock.

Only 39 were in fact signers of the U.S. Constitution. 81-year old Benjamin Franklin was the eldest. He was in such poor physical condition he had to be carried into sessions in a chair. 26-year old Jonathan Dayton was the youngest.

George Washington and Robert Morris were among the wealthiest men in the colonies. Most of the Founding Fathers were very well off financially. Seven ended in or near bankruptcy.

About half of them were college graduates. Self-taught Benjamin Franklin was the exception. 35 were lawyers. 12 were owners or managers of plantations operated by slaves. There were also small farmers, physicians, ministers, a scientist, and university president.

Most were natives of the 13 original colonies. However, 8 Founding Fathers were actually born in other countries (England, Ireland, Scotland, and the West Indies).

Most of the 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787 were in fact, fathers and husbands. Only four were bachelors. Roger Sherman of Connecticut was the most fertile Founding Father. He had 15 children by 2 different wives. At least eight others of his colonial colleagues were married more than once.

Despite their stress and commitments, America’s Founding Fathers as a group were surprisingly long-lived. Proof of the power of a purpose-driven life you might say. On average, they lived until the age of 67. That’s rather remarkable considering their lack of healthcare resources. (Even Obamacare might have looked good in those times).

William C. Houston of New Jersey was the first to go. He died of tuberculosis in 1788. William Samuel Johnson lived the longest. He died at 92. James Madison was the last remaining of the Founding Fathers when he passed away in 1836.

There were two Founding Fathers who suffered fatalities by firearms. In 1802, 44-year old Richard Dobbs Spaight of North Carolina was on the wrong end of a gun with political rival, John Stanly, a Federalist. Then in 1804, the most famous American political duel took place. The trigger was Alexander Hamilton getting in the way of Aaron Burr for President of the United States, and Governor of New York. However, Burr won the ultimate upper hand after challenging Hamilton to a duel and taking his life at 47 years of age.

Have you seen the new Founding Father patch from Ares Armor Inc.? It’s a little late for the 1787 Constitutional Convention. But it’s just in time for Father’s Day 2015.