Rough and Tumble Fighting in the South

In the antebellum South, a brutal form of combat known as "rough and tumble" fighting, or "gouging," was prevalent. This fighting style aimed to maim opponents, with eye-gouging being a particularly notorious tactic. Combatants often sought to gouge out an opponent's eye, and some even sharpened their teeth to bite off ears, noses, or fingers. Such fights were common in rural Southern areas during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

This culture of violence extended beyond individual brawls. Homicide rates among White Southern males were significantly higher than those of their Northern counterparts, especially in rural regions. Notably, these elevated rates were primarily associated with argument-related homicides, reflecting a societal norm where personal disputes frequently escalated to lethal outcomes. In a region in which 40% of the population was enslaved and had no rights, this sort of dehumanization was hardly anomalous.

On a related note, in this last election Trump won in the former confederacy by 6.9 million votes and lost by 4.7 million votes in the rest of the country.