Bibliograph

The field of blood, violence in Congress and the road to civil war, Joanne B. Freeman

Type

Label

The field of blood, violence in Congress and the road to civil war, Joanne B. Freeman

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 395-427) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The field of blood

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1044782454

Responsibility statement

Joanne B. Freeman

Sub title

violence in Congress and the road to civil war

Summary

In The Field of Blood, Joanne B. Freeman recovers the long-lost story of physical violence on the floor of the U.S. 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

Target audience

adult

Classification