Roosevelt was lucky that dueling pistols were outlawed, since he was a notoriously bad shot. The one time he almost got into a duel in the Dakota Territory and the other party demanded the use of pistols, despite the law, TR was forced to talk his way out of the situation. But he was a good boxer and so preferred his duels to be done through fisticuffs.
DBWI: Dueling Illegal
- Thread starter HammerofWar
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Roosevelt was lucky that dueling pistols were outlawed, since he was a notoriously bad shot. The one time he almost got into a duel in the Dakota Territory and the other party demanded the use of pistols, despite the law, TR was forced to talk his way out of the situation. But he was a good boxer and so preferred his duels to be done through fisticuffs.
Ah, yes, the mark of a true gentleman is to use the Marquess' Rules.
Though, nowadays, they insist upon weight classifications, as in the sport itself.
I mean, you have to take the amounts of death due to dueling with a grain of salt, since a good amount of the deaths, mainly in the sparsely populated states like Wyoming or Nevada, many illegal duels, such as those with firearms, do cause deaths. But with dueling being legal, I'd say that more lives have been saved, such as the aforementioned Lee-Grant Duel, and without them, we could've seen possibly tens of thousands live lost in a theoretical American Civil War.
You do realize that "waiving" means getting rid of, right? You're saying Roosevelt was the one responsible for discarding the "duel to the death" as an unnatural concluding factor in most cases.
Dolan
Banned
Another weird effect that I could think is with Duels being outright illegal, we might actually see people in the Americas becoming just as crass and prone to sue the other parties with frivolous lawsuits as in Northern Europe, since they didn't have other legal outlet to settle their grievances.
That means Americans might ends up becoming just as impolite as the Northern Europeans too, since it was largely said that an armed society is a polite society.
That means Americans might ends up becoming just as impolite as the Northern Europeans too, since it was largely said that an armed society is a polite society.
Duels aren't illegal exactly in the UK - more of a legal grey area. Though, as I understand, duelling here in Britain isn't considered proper duelling by American standards, since it's based on points, rather than first blood, and aren't always considered binding.
Besides, carrying swords around with you is generally frowned upon. You have to use blunted swords or singlesticks provided to you in designated duelling arenas, and wear protective clothing. It's meant to be a "more modern form of duelling", apparently - well, at least the French seem to think so.
Illegal duelling is definitely a problem, though, as it is across northern and central Europe. Especially with street gangs, who use most un-gentlemanly weapons, and follow no truly civilised rules.
Dolan
Banned
The fact is, British "Modern Duel" is actually just a watered-down form of Japanese Kendo, which was kind of recreational/training swordsmanship done for sports. Complete to the point of how their protective gears were worn, with only difference being the British one used blunt or hard plastic cavalry sword while the Japanese Kendo used wooden or bamboo sword shaped after their own Katana.
Remember that the Bushido code permits duels with sharp steel for everyone past 20 years of age in Japan, and traditional Kenjutsu is the preferred form.
ASUKIRIK
Banned
Yeah, the Asians are hardcore duelists, but Japan got the better reputation after they basically took Korea by a series of (sadly lethal) sword duels, and then defending it against Chinese Champions trying to wrest it from the Japanese rule.
The all-out war did happen, sometimes, but it was far too bloody to become anything but a last resort. Combat by Champions is thus, the more civilized and gentlemanly conclusion of War in the 20th century. Remember how bloody Indian Independence Wars is, with the death toll in the millions, and let's compare them to the Sino-Japan Champion Wars, where the casualties were largely very limited to those falls in honorable Mortal Combat between Champions.
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Otherwise the British (to distinguish themselves from the French and Americans) are more likely to duel with firearms than other European countries (although the sword remains popular). It makes for "comical" things when their former colonies in Central Asia do the same thing but with automatic weapons.
ASUKIRIK
Banned
The Pashtunistan "Duels" were more about the thinly-veiled justification of outright murder and gang wars instead of giving both wronged parties a fair chance to score (and with automatic weapons, there will be no "first blood" at all). Those are outlawed in their legal Government, mind you.
But otherwise, yeah, British anti-duel influence is still felt especially strong in Indian Laws, which forbids any sort of duels despite many traditionalists thinking they should emulate the systems of honor that belongs to Japan and China (because apparently India before British colonialization did have something that resembled Chinese Youxia, after all).
Dolan
Banned
Crockett stabbed Jackson's thigh in their famous knife duel. It was said that although the wound was superficial, and both badasses ended up becoming best of friends afterwards, this defeat ended up as a sore note on Jackson's dueling history.
ASUKIRIK
Banned
Anyways, there were several groups of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Americas that campaigned to stop the normalization of carrying swords and knives out in the open (allegedly European-based, or at least inspired). They cited the common occurrences of the illegal "School Stabbings" and "Backyard Duels" between youths, but many traditionalists argued that bladesmanship is a necessary survival skill that every boy should learn and every man should have.
Unsurprisingly, those "Anti-Blade" groups were dominated by women, and many argued that the blades were something men used to compensate for their pee pee.
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What will such an alternate of that group emerges on in a world where Americans didn't have the right to duel? Is that meant American societies would be essentially "unarmed society" (using American, Japanese, and Chinese pejorative on Europeans), or would they actually get around carrying GUNS out in the open (even with gun duels also being outlawed)?
Unsurprisingly, those "Anti-Blade" groups were dominated by women, and many argued that the blades were something men used to compensate for their pee pee.
...
What will such an alternate of that group emerges on in a world where Americans didn't have the right to duel? Is that meant American societies would be essentially "unarmed society" (using American, Japanese, and Chinese pejorative on Europeans), or would they actually get around carrying GUNS out in the open (even with gun duels also being outlawed)?
It's a small thing, but if Mark Twain hadn't been ostracized and forgotten for his dishonorable slanders against the duel (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/81003-i-thoroughly-disapprove-of-duels-if-a-man-should-challenge)- the clown might not be totally forgotten.
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