# War of the Regulation

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [February 12, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086 "2013-02-12T16:24:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086/1 "2013-02-12T16:24:08Z")

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After reading Cecil’s column on [the right to bear arms](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1114/what-does-the-right-to-bear-arms-really-mean), I read this Wikipedia page on the [War of the Regulation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Regulation).

I don’t recall ever reading about it before. According to the opening sentence, “The War of the Regulation (or the Regulator Movement) was a North and South Carolina uprising, lasting from about 1765 to 1771, in which citizens took up arms against corrupt colonial officials.”

What’s the connection between the name “Regulators” for a band of armed civilians rising against the government, and the phrase “well-regulated militia?” Was “regulation” a synonym for “vigilantism” in the 18th century?

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**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086/2 "2013-02-12T17:25:45Z")

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It doesn’t appear there is any connection, merely coincidence.

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**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086/3 "2013-02-12T22:55:19Z")

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Well, if that’s the case, does anyone know why the Regulators were called Regulators?

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086/4 "2013-02-13T22:55:56Z")

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There seem to have been quite a few “Regulators” in 18th-19th-century America.

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**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086/5 "2013-02-14T19:48:09Z")

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> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#):
>
> There seem to have been quite a few “Regulators” in 18th-19th-century America.

Wasn’t Billy the Kid involved in some sort of conflict with “Regulators” in the old West?

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-the-regulation/650086/6 "2013-02-14T21:10:25Z")

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> [@RiverRunner](#):
>
> Wasn’t Billy the Kid involved in some sort of conflict with “Regulators” in the old West?

That was one case, yes, the Lincoln County War. He was on the Regulators’ side.