Supreme Court fight nothing compared to 1842 Legislature
Posted on July 5, 2011

Recent reports of fisticuffs between members of the Supreme Court call to mind a violent day under the Capitol dome in 1842, when one lawmaker gunned down another on the floor of the Legislature.
During debate, Charles Arndt of Green Bay implied that fellow member James Vineyard had lied on behalf of a political appointee. According to the press, Vineyard responded with "violent and insulting language."
The session was quickly adjourned, but during the break Arndt approached Vineyard's desk and "requested him to retract, which he refused to do, repeating the offensive words." Arndt then raised his hand and hit Vineyard in the head.
Concealed carry was the status quo in territorial Wisconsin, and before anyone could stop him Vineyard "stepped back a pace, drew a pistol, and shot him dead." Arndt reeled back and fell to the floor, dying where he had fallen, about five minutes later.
English novelist Charles Dickens was touring the United States at the time and cited the incident in his book, American Notes, as an example of the "revolting evidences of the state of society" on the American frontier.
The Territorial Council expelled Vineyard, but after a change of venue from Dane County to his own district in Green County, he was tried and acquitted the next year.
Despite having murdered Arndt, Vineyard was elected to represent the Lead Region at the 1846 Constitutional Convention and was re-elected to the Legislature in 1849. In 1850 he followed the Gold Rush to California, where he died in 1863.
- Wisconsin Historical Society, www.wisconsinhistory.org





















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