A review by thepumpkineater
The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War by Joanne B. Freeman

4.0

This is an in-depth analysis of the patterns and characteristics of congressional violence from the 1830s-1850s. Subject matter struck a bit of a nerve in the aftermath of the 1/6 Capitol Riot. Gets into the North and South's differing cultural standards around dueling, the sensitivity of discussing slavery, conceptions of 'honor' and, and the role of nascent mass media in exacerbating sectional tensions. Slow descent into civil warfare is told through the eyes of B.B. French, a D.C. insider who played a major role in establishing the Democratic party as a nationwide force.

Exceptionally well-written and researched. 4/5.