Why would the (1800s) USA Federal Government have an illiterate Deputy Federal Marshal?

It seems to me that, even in the 1800s, that the government of the USA would have had a requirement that any Deputy Marshal must be able to read/write in English. Assuming that is an accurate assumption, then the fictional character of "Festus Hagen" on the 1955-74 CBS-TV series could not have been hired and deputized by US Marshal Matt Dillon, because the character was illiterate. The reason I mention that, is because in the event that a US Marshal in those days was incapacitated by illness (or died), the deputy would immediately become the US Marshal (until another one was officially appointed from Washington DC) and would be required to handle all of the PAPERWORK previously done by the Marshal he replaced.

Festus Hagen COULD have been temporarily deputized as part of an armed posse or escort, but that's about it, near as I can "figger. " Asked by Scorpio7 45 months ago Similar Questions: 1800s USA Federal Government illiterate Deputy Marshal Recent Questions About: 1800s USA Federal Government illiterate Deputy Marshal Entertainment > Television.

Similar Questions: 1800s USA Federal Government illiterate Deputy Marshal Recent Questions About: 1800s USA Federal Government illiterate Deputy Marshal.

Mass literacy is little more than a century old and it was not uncommon out west. Matt would not have had much to choose from! "Marshal Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke.

He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas" However, according to this history of "United States Marshall", if something happened to a US Marshall, the Attorney General appoints a replacement. The Deputy did not automatically take over. http://www.silverstarcollectables.com/usmshistory.htmSo Festus would not have been the the US Marshall but would have remained a Deputy.

"More than 200 U.S. marshals, deputy marshals, and special deputy marshals have been slain in the line of duty since Marshal Robert Forsyth was shot dead by an intended recipient of court papers in Augusta, Georgia on January 11, 1794. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_ServiceBut if Matt had been killed, Festus would still not have been the Marshall. Best wishes,Librarian50 Sources: http://www.jstor.org/pss/3786234 .

Let me restate your question. You are questioning the validity of a Fictional (make believe) TV show, on why the comedy relief character "Festus" was cast as the deputy? Hmmm.

Sources: self .

Marshalls Matt Dillon wasn’t a Federal U.S. Marshal. He was the town marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. If he was a Federal Marshall (and that’s possible although I don’t recollect any such thing from the show itself) he would have been a Deputy U.S. Marshall (like Clint Eastwood in "Hang "em High") as there was only one Marshall per Federal Court District who supervised all the Deputies in the District.

Federal Marshals work for...wait for it...the Federal Government (they are the enforcement arm of the Federal Court), not the town as Matt did. Given that Matt never appeared to perform any Federal duties in the show, spending most of his time hanging out in the Long Branch ogling Miz Kitty and shooting bad character actors, he was most likely just a town marshal...essentially the local sheriff. His deputies would be guys like Festus (and not Burt Reynolds who also held the job for a while) whose duties involved sweeping out the cells, rousting drunks and emptying the honey buckets...not an occupation requiring a high degree of literacy.

Consider the Earp Brothers who were town marshals in Tombstone, Arizona, constantly at odds with the county sheriff Johnny Behan. Wyatt became a Deputy U.S. Marshall later, after the OK Corral fiasco. He ain’t no Tommy Lee Jones.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0047736/ JBENZ's Recommendations Gunsmoke - 50th Anniversary Collection, Volumes 1 & 2 Amazon List Price: $68.99 Used from: $44.99 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 43 reviews) Gunsmoke - The Directors Collection Amazon List Price: $36.99 Used from: $19.65 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 13 reviews) .

1 There wasn't a lot of paperwork back then, and most people didn't get past the sixth grade if they went to school at all, so there was a tiny pool of folks that wanted to do that sort of work. Also, sometimes it was also a "short lived" job, if you know what I mean, and other times they just needed somebody to fill the position in a hurry I suppose.

There wasn't a lot of paperwork back then, and most people didn't get past the sixth grade if they went to school at all, so there was a tiny pool of folks that wanted to do that sort of work. Also, sometimes it was also a "short lived" job, if you know what I mean, and other times they just needed somebody to fill the position in a hurry I suppose.

2 That's a much better explanation, than re-stating a hypothetical question with the word "FICTIONAL" already mentioned in the "Details" section... This user has been banned from Askville.

2 That's a much better explanation, than re-stating a hypothetical question with the word "FICTIONAL" already mentioned in the "Details" section...

That's a much better explanation, than re-stating a hypothetical question with the word "FICTIONAL" already mentioned in the "Details" section...

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.