Wirey, there is a common misconception that the 2nd amendment is there to enable civilians to rebel against government.
Some thoughts of the founders/framers paint a picture which is at odds with your claim.....
- "To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." George Mason
- "The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." Thomas Jefferson
-
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists." Patrick Henry
-
" ...arms...discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. ...Horrid mischief would ensue were (the law-abiding) deprived the use of them." Thomas Paine
- "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." James Madison
-
"The Constitution shall never be construed … to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." Samuel Adams (the guy on the beer bottles)
- " The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." Alexander Hamilton
- "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." Richard Henry Lee
- Regarding the 2nd Amendment being an individual right....."The whole of the Bill (of Rights) is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals.... It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of." (Albert Gallatin of the New York Historical Society, October 7, 1789)
- "What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty.... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins." (Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment [ I Annals of Congress at 750 {August 17, 1789}])
There are more.