U.S. Congressman Shoots Colleague to Death Sparking Bipartisan National Outrage

THIS WEEK A LONG TIME AGO:

BLADENSBURG, MD / February 24, 1838 / BPALiveWire - Very Late Breaking News, from this week a longtime ago. This week in 1838, a sitting congressman killed a fellow lawmaker in a duel leading Congress to ban dueling in the nation’s capital.

The deadly clash involved Rep. William J. Graves, Whig of Kentucky, and Rep. Jonathan Cilley, Democrat of Maine. Drawn into a dispute fueled by partisan newspaper attacks and the era’s strict code of personal honor, the two men agreed to meet on the dueling grounds in Prince George's County, just outside Washington, D.C., where such encounters were commonly staged because they were illegal in the city.

On February 24, 1838, after several rounds of gunfire, Cilley was mortally wounded. The nation was stunned. Americans who rarely agreed on anything found common ground in their shock and anger. The idea that political tensions could end in a killing on the dueling field forced lawmakers to confront a violent tradition that no longer fit a growing republic.

The response was swift and bipartisan. In 1839, Congress passed a law banning dueling in Washington, D.C., with penalties for issuing or accepting a challenge. It was a defining moment, establishing that in American public life, disputes must be settled through debate and elections, not deadly combat.

This forgotten episode reminds us that throughout history, we should always #AttackPolicyNotPeople.