{"product_id":"the-field-of-blood-violence-in-congress-and-the-road-to-civil-war-9781250234582","title":"The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the best history books I've read in the last few years. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Chris Hayes\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE OF \u003ci\u003eSMITHSONIAN'S \u003c\/i\u003eBEST HISTORY BOOKS OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe previously untold story of the violence in Congress that helped spark the Civil War\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Field of Blood\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThese 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Field of Blood\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-11222321\"\u003eJoanne B. Freeman\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Picador USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/10\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 480\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.78lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250234582\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1250234581\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS036040\"\u003eUnited States | 19th Century\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS036050\"\u003eUnited States | Civil War Period (1850-1877)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-POL\"\u003ePolitical Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-POL006000\"\u003eAmerican Government | Legislative Branch\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoanne B. Freeman\u003c\/b\u003e, a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, is a leading authority on early national politics and political culture. The author of the award-winning \u003ci\u003eAffairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e and editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Essential Hamilton \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eAlexander Hamilton: Writings\u003c\/i\u003e, she is a cohost of the popular history podcast \u003ci\u003eBackStory\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Picador USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42702203715821,"sku":"9781250234582","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_c297bf22-5795-4e3b-908b-f4058f7c7f71.jpg?v=1649958065","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/the-field-of-blood-violence-in-congress-and-the-road-to-civil-war-9781250234582","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}