"The Culture of Violence in the American West: Myth ..." Topic

…versus Reality.

"Contrary to popular perception, the Old West was much more peaceful than American cities are today. The real culture of violence on the frontier during the latter half of the nineteenth century sprang from the U.S. government's policies toward the Plains Indians…"

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Amicalement
Armand

You can't compare civilian violence with military actions. I did a lot of research on the American West when I was in graduate school and, while it was not as violent as Hollywood likes to portray, it was, IMO, more violent than these authors want to pretend it to be.

Yeah but where is the fun in that?
Can't see a scenario where all the players stroll around town going about normal business would be too much fun!😊

YES! Rolled a 6, the grocery store has apples, WOOT!

Yeah, not quite as thrilling.

The reality is fascinatingly boring. Average annual homicides in Dodge, 1870-1890: 0.6. Doc Holliday really could draw like a striking snake, but couldn't hit a ship with a shotgun at five paces. Billy the Kid had killed two men when he was arrested (I'm going from memory). Hickock's nickname referred to his large nose. Liberty Valance probably spent his free time helping old ladies carry their shopping home.

I agree with 79th PA.

Historian Greg Michno wrote a well documented piece showing the fallacy of their position about the lack of violence in the west.

Tom

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle. For the past few decades some liberal academic historians have been trying to debunk the lawless image of the Old West. I think this is because of a political agenda. A good many of these self-appointed experts have probably never even lived west of the Mississippi. Anyway, it just doesn't wash. I have a master's degree in history myself, but I am also a native of the Far West, and have lived most of my life in the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, most of my ancestors lived on the frontier, wherever it happened to be at the time. So I am familiar with a good deal of family lore and local history that has never made its way into the awareness of the general public.

A close study of the history of most any place in the American West reveals a pretty high incidence of violent episodes (they don't have to result in death) in relation to the population density during the area's frontier era. Keep in mind that the frontier era passed fairly quickly in most places, but persisted in others. On the other hand, Hollywood has certainly presented a distorted view of the frequency and lethality of the violence. Otherwise, the small towns would simply have run out of population! There were also notably few "fair fights" involving face-to-face quick draws. Most killings were simple murder: someone shot in the back or ambushed along a trail.

There's no smoke without fire. I can imagine a large amount of violent crime that was never reported and just accepted as how things are.

I have nothing, no study, no research, no document's.
However I have always pondered the possibility that as most people would be armed the likelihood of violence should diminish with a higher percentage chance of some form of counter attack?

Regards
Russ Dunaway

@Old Glory,

If everyone were sober and entirely rational, your observation ought to hold true. However, a good deal of Old West violence involved saloons and overly liberal use of alcohol. Plus a frontier environment tends to draw people of unstable personality or evil intentions, so an unusually high proportion of the population might be said to consist fairly literally of loose cannons.

One of my own great-great uncles accidentally shot and killed a hotel clerk when he was a young man. The story seems to be that he was carrying a gun because he felt threatened by a miners' labor dispute. He had been drinking and, while discussing the matter, he unfortunately drew his pistol to demonstrate he was ready for trouble. The weapon went off and killed the unoffending clerk instantly. A judge ruled the killing was accidental and no charges were pressed.

The same uncle much later died of a gunshot at a poker game in Nevada. Those present claimed it was a suicide, but you may draw your own conclusions. The building still exists, and one of my sisters has visited the site. She learned that two or three other men met their end at the same place, but I don't know the details and circumstances.