The decades preceding the Civil War were marked by stalwart political division and congressional violence. While the ensuing debate surrounding the expansion or containment of slavery raged in the halls of Congress, one key factor in many Southerners’ strategy to subdue their Northern counterparts, was the strategic usage of the “affair of honor,” or the duel. In contrast to the period of the Early Republic, sentiment around the affair of honor diverged starkly between North and South, with Southerners championing the practice, and Northerners rejecting it. The flashpoint for this divergence can be traced to the morning of July 11th, 1804, when Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr met in Weehawken, NJ to settle an honor dispute with a duel. After only one exchange of fire, Burr emerged physically unscathed, while Hamilton died the next day from the fatal wound Burr had inflicted. What followed, at least in the northern states, was the outright rejection of both Burr, and the ritual of honor that facilitated his part in killing Hamilton. The south gradually integrated the affair of honor as both a facet of their identity, and a political tool to be used against Northerners. By using what congressman Henry Wise dubbed “the rule of force,” Southerners would use their knowledge and public approval of the affair to silence any congressional debate pertaining to slavery.
