Yes, I added the part about duels as an afterthought, belMarduk. We were talking about slaps and it reminded me of duels which were considered affairs of honor.

BTW PBS made a film about "the most famous duel in American history", aptly titled "The Duel".

The most famous duel in American history climaxed a longstanding conflict between two of the most important men in the country. Alexander Hamilton, an impoverished immigrant from the West Indies, rose to become a framer of the U.S. Constitution and the architect of America's political economy. Aaron Burr, grandson of the theologian Jonathan Edwards, served with distinction in the Revolutionary War and was nearly elected the nation's third president. In 1804 they met in a duelan honor match that changed the course of American history.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/filmmore/index.html

It is also news to me that Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, took a bullet in the chest in a duel, cooling killing his opponent while bleeding from the wound. His opponent was honor-bound to stand in place and receive Jackson's shot rather than run.

From a Biography of Andrew Jackson:

Jackson challenged Dickinson to a duel very much according to the customs of the time in the south. Dickinson, known as one of the best shots in Tennessee if not the best, had choice of weapons and chose pistols.

Dickinson fired the first shot, which broke two of Jackson's ribs and lodged two inches from his heart. Dickinson then had to stand at the mark as Jackson, clutching his chest, aimed slowly and shot him fatally.

Though acceptable by the code of the times, many people considered it a cold-blooded killing.

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/aj7/about/bio/duel.htm