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橡樹下的林蔭大道，是古老的決鬥場地 (路易斯安那州紐澳良市)
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亞歷山大‧漢彌爾頓 (Alexander
Hamilton) 與安倫波 (Aaron
Burr) 在1804年7月11日舉行的死亡決鬥
站在紐澤西的威霍肯高地 (Heights
of Weehasken) 上，漢彌爾頓與安倫波朝對方射擊。有些人說漢彌爾頓故意射偏了，但是安倫波的子彈卻重創了漢彌爾頓。隔天，漢彌爾頓因而死亡，而安倫波則安全逃走了。
雖然這很難令人相信，但是以決鬥來解決歧見，乃是從獨立革命以來就有的習慣。但是在1804年的時候，若決鬥雙方都是政治人物時，那麼決鬥在紐約州並不合法。安倫波被控以謀殺罪，但是這個指控最後被撤銷了。
幸運的是，現今的政治家透過言語辯論與媒體監督的方式來化解歧見。決鬥與其他暴力方式絕對不是解決問題最好的方法。在決鬥的過程中，失敗的那方損失的絕對比他的立場更多；他會失去他的生命。
Standing on the heights of Weehawken, New Jersey, Hamilton and Burr fired their pistols. Some people said that Hamilton purposely missed Burr. Burr's shot, however, fatally wounded Hamilton, leading to his death the following day. Aaron Burr escaped unharmed.
Hard to believe, but settling differences with a duel had been the custom before the Revolution. In 1804, however, dueling was no longer legal in the state of New York, where both men were political leaders. Burr was indicted for murder, but the charges were later dropped.
Fortunately, politicians today use debates and the press to settle their differences. Dueling and other violence have never been an intelligent way to solve a problem. In a duel, the loser lost more than just an argument; he lost his life.
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