Which if any of the founding fathers said that the 2nd amendment should apply only to a well regulated militia and not the general populace?

Answer 1

Kyle, None of them. In the 18th century the militia was understood to consist of all military aged men in a community. In the debates during the first congress over the second amendment, the question was not one of who would be permitted to keep arms, but rather who might be excused from being *compelled* to bear arms. It was thought that language might be included that would excuse doctors or ministers from having to bear arms in the militia. It was finally decided to leave such matters to the states. The second amendment was intended to protect the right of the people to form a militia, but it was understood that everyone was expected to be in the militia and they were very often expected to provide their own weapons. Thus it in no way restricted anyone's right to keep arms. Thus the sentiment you cite would never have been expressed. That is a modern thought based on an ignorance of what the militia was and a desire to strip people of a constitutional right.Michael Montagne

No one will be able to give you the exact quote because none of the founding fathers said any such thing. In fact, they sincerely believed that ALL citizens should be armed and this right would prevent any government from becoming oppressive.

Since this amendment has been the subject of much discussion over many years, it might actually be helpful to understand a little about its origins ...

The reader of our current Constitution would also have been fairly knowledgeable about the contents of our "Articles of Confederation" that pre-dated the Constitution. In Article VI, para 4, you will find the following:

"No vessel of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the United States in Congress assembled, for the defense of such State, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgment of the United States in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defense of such State; but every State shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of filed pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage."

In other words, the Articles clearly expected that although the States would not maintain standing armies of their own, they were obligated to maintain their own militias. When the Constitution was written, there was little controversy about the issue of state militias, since it was already assumed they understood that fundamental relationship to the Central Government.