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The Field of Blood

Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War

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The Field of Blood

By: Joanne B. Freeman
Narrated by: Joanne B. Freeman
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This program is read by the author.

The previously untold story of the violence in Congress that helped spark the Civil War

In The Field of Blood, Joanne B. Freeman recovers the long-lost story of physical violence on the floor of the US Congress. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources, she shows that the Capitol was rife with conflict in the decades before the Civil War. Legislative sessions were often punctuated by mortal threats, canings, flipped desks, and all-out slugfests. When debate broke down, congressmen drew pistols and waved Bowie knives. One representative even killed another in a duel. Many were beaten and bullied in an attempt to intimidate them into compliance, particularly on the issue of slavery.

These fights didn’t happen in a vacuum. Freeman’s dramatic accounts of brawls and thrashings tell a larger story of how fisticuffs and journalism, and the powerful emotions they elicited, raised tensions between North and South and led toward war. In the process, she brings the antebellum Congress to life, revealing its rough realities - the feel, sense, and sound of it - as well as its nation-shaping import.

Funny, tragic, and rivetingly told, The Field of Blood offers a front-row view of congressional mayhem and sheds new light on the careers of John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and other luminaries, as well as introducing a host of lesser-known but no less fascinating men. The result is a fresh understanding of the workings of American democracy and the bonds of Union on the eve of their greatest peril.

©2018 Joanne B. Freeman (P)2018 Macmillan Audio
Corruption & Misconduct Military Political Science United States Violence in Society War Civil War Funny

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Fantastic history on political violence

This is a history of violence in congress in the pre civil war years. Driven by southerners, the contagion of violence spread to northern Republican congressmen and then an entire nation. I’ve read a lot on the pre civil war years and most books quickly gloss over this subject. Fascinating stories of key moments in history. Highly recommended.

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