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Vinnie From Indy

(10,820 posts)

2. Actually, the "wild, wild" west wasn't really as wild as Hollywood would have you believe

Reply to JaneyVee (Original post)

Sun Mar 24, 2013, 08:12 PM

Mar 2013

"How many murders do you suppose these old western towns saw a year? Let's say the bloodiest, gun-slingingest of the famous cattle towns with the cowboys doing quick-draws at high noon every other day. A hundred? More?

How about five? That was the most murders any old-west town saw in any one year. Ever. Most towns averaged about 1.5 murders a year, and not all of those were shooting. You were way more likely to be murdered in Baltimore in 2008 than you were in Tombstone in 1881, the year of the famous gunfight at the OK Corral (body count: three) and the town's most violent year ever."

http://www.cracked.com/article_18487_6-ridiculous-history-myths-you-probably-think-are-true.html

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Highlight:

The 1800's Wild West Had Stricter Gun Control Than We Have Today. [View all] JaneyVee Mar 2013 OP

Stubborn Truth Triumphs Over Myth And Legend cantbeserious Mar 2013 #1

Actually, the "wild, wild" west wasn't really as wild as Hollywood would have you believe Vinnie From Indy Mar 2013 #2

How Many Cowboys Had Bushmasters with 30 round magazines? mikekohr Mar 2013 #4

Just like today, people preferred handguns for nearly all murders Recursion Mar 2013 #10

The Winchester 73 (a very popular rifle from the day) melm00se Mar 2013 #22

Cracked is not exactly an authority Art_from_Ark Mar 2013 #21

But they provide links for people to start digging. DetlefK Mar 2013 #26

It was always the anti-gun folks who claimed pro-gun folks wanted a return to the wild west aikoaiko Mar 2013 #3

yep. Tuesday Afternoon Mar 2013 #5

I believe you miss the point. caseymoz Mar 2013 #7

But the Constitution melm00se Mar 2013 #23

Which means, of course . . . caseymoz Mar 2013 #24

true melm00se Mar 2013 #31

And here's the way we actually remember the Old West caseymoz Mar 2013 #6

And a significantly higher level of gun violence Recursion Mar 2013 #8

Gun violence was actually lower. Gravitycollapse Mar 2013 #11

Nope, not per capita at least Recursion Mar 2013 #12

The per capita homicide rate was lower in the mid 19th century than today. Gravitycollapse Mar 2013 #13

Negative Recursion Mar 2013 #14

Actually, upon further review, you're right. Gravitycollapse Mar 2013 #16

You'd never know it from anything any politician or media figure says Recursion Mar 2013 #17

Spikes Ron Obvious Mar 2013 #18

I'll have to go read it again, but I think combatant deaths are not counted Recursion Mar 2013 #19

Think how much lower it would be without tens of millions of guns floating around. Hoyt Mar 2013 #27

That's an interesting contrafactual Recursion Mar 2013 #28

source data dsoppet Apr 2014 #32

And gun ownership was higher. progressoid Mar 2013 #15

A couple more from the old days... Historic NY Mar 2013 #9

I wonder how many were killed by "Prickly Ash Bitters" and TexasProgresive Mar 2013 #30

This BS again? beevul Mar 2013 #20

Can you show what the murder rates were like? Just curious. nt hack89 Mar 2013 #25

Colonial practice? setab Mar 2013 #29