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vcmwEvery now and then someone starts talking near me in public about the lowered modern tone of civil discourse and I have a hard time not laughing so hard up my sleeve that I choke.
C'mon people. Really? We are So Much Nicer Now Than We Were Then. Just for example, nowadays we hardly ever have one Senator beating the other with a stick on the senate floor and then challenging him to a duel. If you like American humorous political anecdote, and you enjoy light popular history, may I commend Barbara Holland to your attention? In addition to the stellar "Hail To The Chiefs" she is also the author of the charming "Gentlemen's Blood: A history of dueling from swords at dawn to pistols at dusk."
She's not the historian you read if you want an academic picture of a field as whole, but she's very entertaining.
On the early American republic, she notes:
"Every faction considered all other factions a threat to the republic and a personal insult. Men in public called each other, not just the traditional "liar," "poltroon," "coward," and "puppy," but also "fornicator," "madman," and "bastard"; they accused each other of incest, treason, and consorting with the devil. Legislative debate at all levels often led straight to whatever secluded local spot had been set aside to soak up the blood of satisfaction.
...
Sad to say, some of our early lawmakers bought large, stout hickory sticks and carried them to work. Republican Brockholst Livingston insulted Federalist James Jones. Jones beat him with his stick on the floor of Congress and then went for the grand slam by grabbing and twisting his nose. In the resulting duel, Jones was killed. Afterward Livingston was said to be "conscious of having done nothing but what he was compeled to do & at the same time sorry for the Necessity."
The chapter makes it clear that it was pretty common to insult and beat each other up, have a nice duel, perhaps kill your opponent, and then go right on with your political career. That, in fact, at various periods, not having the duel would be more likely to end your career than killing your opponent. Hamilton and Burr (discussed therein): not outliers.
I think I've burbled about Holland before, but every time I re-read her books I burble again. What can you do.
C'mon people. Really? We are So Much Nicer Now Than We Were Then. Just for example, nowadays we hardly ever have one Senator beating the other with a stick on the senate floor and then challenging him to a duel. If you like American humorous political anecdote, and you enjoy light popular history, may I commend Barbara Holland to your attention? In addition to the stellar "Hail To The Chiefs" she is also the author of the charming "Gentlemen's Blood: A history of dueling from swords at dawn to pistols at dusk."
She's not the historian you read if you want an academic picture of a field as whole, but she's very entertaining.
On the early American republic, she notes:
"Every faction considered all other factions a threat to the republic and a personal insult. Men in public called each other, not just the traditional "liar," "poltroon," "coward," and "puppy," but also "fornicator," "madman," and "bastard"; they accused each other of incest, treason, and consorting with the devil. Legislative debate at all levels often led straight to whatever secluded local spot had been set aside to soak up the blood of satisfaction.
...
Sad to say, some of our early lawmakers bought large, stout hickory sticks and carried them to work. Republican Brockholst Livingston insulted Federalist James Jones. Jones beat him with his stick on the floor of Congress and then went for the grand slam by grabbing and twisting his nose. In the resulting duel, Jones was killed. Afterward Livingston was said to be "conscious of having done nothing but what he was compeled to do & at the same time sorry for the Necessity."
The chapter makes it clear that it was pretty common to insult and beat each other up, have a nice duel, perhaps kill your opponent, and then go right on with your political career. That, in fact, at various periods, not having the duel would be more likely to end your career than killing your opponent. Hamilton and Burr (discussed therein): not outliers.
I think I've burbled about Holland before, but every time I re-read her books I burble again. What can you do.
