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Sigh. Yes, attitudes toward violence have changed. We don't have duels any more, and if we did, the winner would go to jail. Fine. What's interesting about the
by cwp 15y ago
Sigh. Yes, attitudes toward violence have changed. We don't have duels any more, and if we did, the winner would go to jail. Fine.
What's interesting about the duel isn't that Burr killed Hamilton, it's that he took the risk of getting killed himself. The duel could easily have turned out the other way. Who would risk his life to protect his reputation today? Certainly not Dick Cheney.
- mikeash 15y agoI agree, that's interesting. I simply dispute that this is evidence that honor truly was important in the past. The word may have been, but the meaning was not what we mean by it today.
- nl 15y agoIt is worth noting that Burr was known as a violent man and a good pistol shot (unlike Hamilton). If he had been an honorable man he would have deliberately missed (which was common in duels).