Most of the lawlessness was straight out competition over powerful economic contests. Nearly all of Wyoming s based in land use between large interests and small operations. Tombstone was another one. Lincoln County War was over competition for the lucrative contracts for supplying Fort Stanton. The Royal Gorge War was better two railroads wanting the same narrow route.
The list is endless.
And the young soldiers from the civil war found employ there. But they were not really the cause of much.
And the high noon fast draw concept was almost unknown. There were one or two such duals in the entire west. The hundreds of these in movies and TV are a modern invention.
2nd that! When I was in school during the 1960s we had “assemblies” in the gym. Entertainers came and performed in shows that included some type of educational value. One time a team of fast draw people came and that was the exact message that they taught us.
There was a very high crime rate in parts of the country who did not have adequate law enforcement in the years following the civil war. But people facing off in the streets in some sort of fast draw contest was an invention of the entertainment industry.