Why U.S. Senators Can’t Punch Their Way Into an Argument Like the Taiwanese Do: The Philippine Connection

I was reading Uncle John's Bathroom Reader when I came upon this. On February 28, 1902, the US Senate was debating about whether to give aid to the Philippines or not. Senator Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina said that undue influences caused Sen. John McLaurin, also of South Carolina, to change his vote on the matter. Whatever that vote was (very important to Philippines) does not matter to the article. What happened was that McLaurin got so angry and accused Tillman of lying. Tillman punched him in the eye and McLaurin punched him in the nose. Both were suspended for six days. As a result, the senators made Rule 19: “No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any forms of words impute to another Senator or to others Senators any conduct or motive unworthy of becoming a Senator.”