A History of Duels in the United States

Google defines a duel as “a contest with deadly weapons arranged between two people in order to settle a point of honor.”  But today I go beyond that, and ask: how does America define duels?

The history of American dueling starts not in America, but in Europe.  Duels were used to settle disputes, and the religious roots in Europe caused people to believe that God would save the right person in a duel.  Dueling, as described by google, was about honor.  And this attitude translated over to America.

Of course in America it was also about honor, but democracy began to throw something new into the mix: politics.  Dueling became more popular around the revolution and afterwards rather than before due to the revolution’s emphasis on free speech and the divide between people who supported America versus Britain, and also due to the democracy created by America and the political parties that sprang up around it.

Dueling is interesting as it has been seen in many different ways, as both civilized and uncivilized, due to the many aspects and associations it has.  Duels have been romanticized in literature but also seen as a brutal way to settle petty arguments.  The rules of a duel are very civilized and strict however, to prevent long family feuds that go back generations.  Despite the danger and the fact that duels were illegal in many states, backing down from a challenge was seen to many as a terrible weakness that could destroy a reputation.  This depended who you were and where you were from though, as duels were a slightly more southern focused thing, so in places such as New England there was less stigma attached.  Dueling was more popular in the south because of the lack of enforcement for the laws when they were made, as well as duels over slavery and the fact of honor and social standing being of more importance.

Many politicians were involved in duels, and those went beyond regular duels and have become more well-known in history.  The most famous political duel was Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, the duel in which Hamilton was shot and killed.  Other politicians that were involved in duels include the man who just seems to pop up everywhere, Henry Clay, as well as Virginia senator John Randolph, Tennessee congressman Sam Houston, and even president Lincoln (though he never actually dueled, was just challenged and was very close before a third party intervention stopped it from happening).  Other famous duels include those between naval officers Stephen Decatur and James Barron, and between David Broderick and David Terry. And of course I would not forget Andrew Jackson, who famously had fought many duels.

Dueling, as mentioned before, had gone out of favor in the north.  This was the beginning of the dueling downfall.  By 1859, 18 states had outlawed dueling.  After the Civil War, dueling became far less popular, likely due to the extreme bloodshed from the war.  In the twentieth century, dueling laws were more enforced, and the practice has all but died out completely.  Sadly, dueling is illegal in California as of 1994, but in some states it’s still technically legal, so do with that what you will.

Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/politics-and-pistols-dueling-in-america/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/duel-104161025/
http://www.librarypoint.org/dueling_days_in_early_america
https://www.goldengatearms.com/california-dueling-laws-repealed/