1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: I know it's election time and the anger, furious disagreement 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: over policy, and threats of violence are pretty upsetting to 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,760 Speaker 1: stay the least, But nothing we're experiencing now even comes 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: close to what went on in the US in the 5 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds. I'm Patty Steele. Legal murder in the world 6 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: of politics. That's next on the backstory. We're back with 7 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: the backstory. You think we've got it rough right now. 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: When it comes to politics, there were a slew of 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: political parties in the early eighteen hundreds, but by eighteen 10 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: sixty it was pretty much Republicans and Democrats doing battle. 11 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: They fought over race, class, religion, immigration, inequality, and whatever 12 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: else they could think of. Sound kind of familiar, Well 13 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 1: it got really crazy. Take a look at Andrew Jackson, 14 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: the seventh US President. I believe it or not, this 15 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: guy during his political career was super thin skinned and 16 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: quick tempered, and that danger combo resulted in Jackson constantly 17 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: challenging people he didn't like to duel him. I get this. 18 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: He may have been involved in as many as one 19 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: hundred duels. Most of them were just a couple of 20 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: hotheads firing their guns into the air trying to show 21 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: their brilliant courage by not turning down the challenge, but 22 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: in at least one case, it took a deadly turn. 23 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: It all started when Jackson's fellow horse breeder and longtime 24 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: political rival, Charles Dickinson, publicly insulted Jackson, calling him a 25 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: worthless scoundrel and a coward wow harsh words. He also 26 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: twisted the knife by calling Jackson's wife a bigamist, among 27 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: other things. The pair had married before Rachel Jackson was 28 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: granted a divorce from her first husband. So it's May thirtieth, 29 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: eighteen oh six. Jackson and Dickinson meet up at a 30 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: farm in a Dareville, Kentucky. It's pretty intense. Dickinson is 31 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: considered to be one of the best shots in the country. 32 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: They take aim. Jackson's gun jams and Dickinson gets off 33 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: the first shot, wounding Jackson in the chest, breaking some ribs, 34 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: and just missing his heart. But Jackson stands tall. He 35 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: quickly reloads and shoots. He hits Dickinson's square on. Witnesses 36 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: rushed to his side, but Dickinson begins bleeding out. He 37 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: asks those around him why the lights are being turned off. 38 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: Charles Dickinson is dead within five minutes. Jackson, on the 39 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: other hand, barely escapes with his own life. The bullet, 40 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: again lodged near his heart, was never removed, and he 41 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: carried it with him for the rest of his life, 42 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: though he did have constant pain from it until he 43 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: died almost forty years later. Duels were not really all 44 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 1: that uncommon. Everybody knows about the Aaron Burr Alexander Hamilton duel, right, 45 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: but that duel cost Burr his political career, even though 46 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: he was never prosecuted for killing somebody. As for Jackson, 47 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: his political career thrived in the aftermath, despite the continued 48 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: attacks on his wife and some of his military exploits. 49 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: He was elected president in eighteen twenty nine, and he 50 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: served two terms. The courts just didn't go after folks 51 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: that took part and mutually agreed upon duels. Yes, it 52 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: was considered a manly response to having your honored question. 53 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,079 Speaker 1: But believe it or not, women dueled as well. In 54 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: one case, they used guns first and then switched to swords. 55 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: But things got even more violent later in the nineteenth century. 56 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: In fact, in the years between the Civil War and 57 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: the turn of the twentieth century, US politics was more 58 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: violent and corrupt than ever was before or has been since. 59 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: The violence wasn't just between politicians, but among everyday Americans too, 60 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: because they deeply cared about the direction the country was taking. 61 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: It was unlike anything we've experienced in our lifetime. There 62 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: were regular fistfights, murders, threats, and proven claims of stolen elections. 63 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: Visiting Europeans were shocked and fascinated at the same time. 64 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: I keep in mind, for the most part, none of 65 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: them got to choose their leaders, so watching this was 66 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: pretty interesting. They wrote about American elections, watching people living 67 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: as far apart as folks in Paris were from Saint Petersburg, Russia, 68 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,799 Speaker 1: all involved in the same political debate. It's a big country. 69 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: One reporter from London talked about what he called the 70 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: Festival of Diversity, with working class, young white marchers alongside 71 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: groups of African Americans, Cubans, Italians, Irish, Mexican and Chinese. 72 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: Others wrote about American women who weren't legally allowed to vote, 73 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: but who marched for what they believed in and were 74 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: fiercely opinionated. They were amazed to even watch schoolgirls argue 75 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:53,840 Speaker 1: politics on street cars, so imagine this. It was very 76 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 1: much like our twenty twenty election, but on steroids, and 77 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 1: it happened every four years for over forty years. Literally 78 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: thousands of people died in political warfare in that period, 79 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: after all, three of the four presidential assassinations in American 80 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: history happened between eighteen sixty five and nineteen oh one. 81 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: On the upside, the passion people felt about politics meant 82 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: there were record turnouts on election day. As America finally 83 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: calmed down and there was some political reform, we eventually 84 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: lost the fire and passion that saw every citizen wrapped 85 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: up in politics. Political participation and enthusiasm crashed once we 86 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: got into the twentieth century, So while it was much 87 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:43,360 Speaker 1: more civil, we lost something in the process. How great 88 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: would it be if we could embrace the passion of 89 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: participating and running this beautiful country, but also allow other 90 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: people to have their own point of view without resorting 91 00:05:53,560 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: to nastiness and violence. I hope you're enjoying the Backstory 92 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 1: with Patty Steele. Follow or subscribe for free to get 93 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: new episodes delivered automatically, and by the way, feel free 94 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: to DM me if you have a story you'd like 95 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on 96 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a 97 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the Elvis Duran Group, and 98 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer 99 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. 100 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 1: Feel free to reach out to me with comments and 101 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,159 Speaker 1: even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and 102 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the 103 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't 104 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: know you needed to know.