Scolded author quits Emory (Michael Bellesiles)

The Atlanta Journal-Costitution ^ | 10/25/2002 | Karen Hill

[FreedomPoster]

An Emory University history professor has resigned after an outside academic panel issued a report condemning his research for a book that went to the heart of the national controversy over gun control.

Emory officials said Friday that Michael Bellesiles' resignation is effective Dec. 31. They also released for the first time Friday the panel's 40-page report, dated July 10, and a statement from Bellesiles disputing the panel's findings.

Bellesiles, who said he had enjoyed his 14 years at Emory, continued that he "cannot continue to teach in what I feel is a hostile environment."

He said he will, instead, focus on his next book.

Bellesiles wrote "Arming America: Origins of a National Gun Culture," an award-winning book that claimed early Americans did not possess or use firearms nearly as much as is popularly believed. The book, published in 2000, won the 2001 Bancroft Prize, the highest prize in the field of American history.

Bellesiles contended that because guns were too expensive and hard to maintain, they did not become widespread among the American population until after the Civil War. Critics, including gun rights advocates and scholars, accused him of bias and sloppy research.

Officials at Emory appointed an outside panel of scholars this spring to investigate the charges surrounding the book. Bellesiles has been on paid leave from Emory throughout the fall semester.

The report said panelists could not determine whether Bellesiles falsified probate records from various locations around the country, as some critics have charged. But the panel did conclude that Bellesiles falsified a table detailing gun ownership because he omitted, without telling readers, gun counts in 1774-76.

Bellesiles acknowledged omitting the information, but only for 1774-75, because he said those counts were unnaturally high. Colonial governments were handing out firearms to militias in anticipation of the Revolutionary War, he said.

The report also said Bellesiles seriously deviated from accepted research practices.

"He is guilty of unprofessional and misleading work," concluded the report, written by professors Stanley Katz of Princeton University, Hanna Gray of the University of Chicago and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich of Harvard University.

Bellesiles said the panel's focus was too narrow, attacking "my integrity as a scholar based on three paragraphs and a table in a 600-page book," he said. "It seems to me that raising uncertainties that question the credibility of an entire book without considering the book as a whole is just plain unfair."

He also said the report's conclusions were wrong.

"I have never fabricated evidence of any kind nor knowingly evaded my responsibilities as a scholar," Bellesiles said.

For the full report from the panel and Bellesiles' response, go to www.emory.edu/central/NEWS/index.shtml.

[FreedomPoster]

Others have posted the Emory press release on this. This is from the hometown paper.

>>"He is guilty of unprofessional and misleading work," concluded the report,

Pretty damning, coming from an academic environment that would love for his work to be true.

Good riddance, and long overdue. Now we need to pressure the Bancroft Prize people to take back their award.

[anniegetyourgun]

It has been good to see this (along with Goodwin demise)....perhaps there is some justice in the world.

[FreedomPoster]

Bang!

[FreedomPoster]

I've been waiting for two years for this. My feelings right now are the definition of schadenfreude.

[Nakota]

No matter, Handgun Control, Inc. (or whatever they call themselves these days) will still cite his book as factual authority, just like the other flawed studies they still refer to in their propaganda.

[meenie]

I can't believe that a university would criticize a prof for falsifying and misleading with his research. It must have been real obvious that he stretched his research to the limit of lying. I never could understand how he could mainrain that few people owned guns until after the Civil war. After the Revolution, War of 1812, and the Indiazn Wars, that was unbelievable. This just defied common sense and was probably the reason for his firing. The bullsh*t got too deep for even the education establishment.

[Thane_Banquo]

Bellesiles acknowledged omitting the information, but only for 1774-75, because he said those counts were unnaturally high. Colonial governments were handing out firearms to militias in anticipation of the Revolutionary War, he said.

Thus canceling out his argument that the Founders didn't intend for individuals to own guns.

[FreedomPoster]

You should read some of Clayton Cramer's work debunking Bellesiles. It's been around since shortly after the book was published. Because Cramer isn't in academia, the ivory tower types tried to ignore him, but his work was so thorough, it couldn't be ignored. This led to the reviews of Bellesiles' work by "acceptable" academics, who, though they sugar-coated it, also found nothing but a huge steaming pile of B.S. when they examined Bellesiles' "work".

[Waco]

"Well, that does it! If I can't just make this sh-t up as I go along, I'm leaving! (Gaabye Asshole!)

[Atlas Sneezed]

Extensive discussion and excerpts of the report here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/775867/posts

[McGavin999]

Gee, maybe this is all we have to do to get rid of all these over-liberal professors. Although, I've been thinking lately that maybe we should leave them in place. Kids have a tendency to rebel against "authority" and if the authority figures are commies, maybe the kids will all become conservatives in rebellion :o)

[Drango]

Extensive discussion and excerpts of the report here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/775867/posts

and here
another thread

[KC Burke]

Bump>

Good that he resigned, but I have the sneaking suspision that he will get a soft-landing job from the leftists.

[coloradan]

Bellesiles, who said he had enjoyed his 14 years at Emory, continued that he "cannot continue to teach in what I feel is a hostile environment."

However I, as a gun owner, have enjoyed my few years of gun ownership, but nevertheless will continue to be a gun owner despite the hostile environment to such that was created by people like Bellesiles. Even though gun ownership is merely a hobby to me while teaching is a profession to him.

[jokar]

http://instapundit.com/lawrev/Lindgren.pdf
A point by point refutation of his entire book. Very short and very interesting Very final. No wiggle room or weasel words for the Emory LIAR, published in the Yale Law Review.

Have they apologized to Charlton Heston yet ?
When will the NY slimes and the Chi Trib, and or Playboy be printing retractions ?

I thought not.

[jdege]

Bellesiles acknowledged omitting the information, but only for 1774-75, because he said those counts were unnaturally high.

In other words, his numbers were low because he intentionally left out information in which the numbers were high.

[teeman8r]

bellies second book, "carter: man of peace" will document the great things that happened under jimmy's second term as president...

[aruanan]

I can't believe that a university would criticize a prof for falsifying and misleading with his research.

Are you kidding? I guess you must not have much contact with universities. Falsifying data in research is the unpardonable sin in academia.

[aruanan]

Hanna Holborn Gray, former president of the University of Chicago.

Too bad her official portrait in Hutch Commons is one of the most excruciatingly ugly things ever committed to canvas.