A review by sarahd22081
The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War by Joanne B. Freeman

5.0

This is a perfect sequel to Dr. Freeman's previous study of duels; Affairs of Honor . If you think political discourse is uncivil now, wait until you read about the fistfights and insults traded between armed congressmen in the early 19th century. Preston Brooks' infamous caning of Charles Sumner in 1856 was not an outlier - rather, it was the culmination of a decades-long trend as tensions between north and south escalated. Freeman's meticulous research into Congressional records and correspondence reveals the complex code loyalties and strategies between members of the legislature. She frames her narrative through the eyes and career of New Hampshire clerk Benjamin Brown French, whose detailed diaries and friendships with notable political figures give a window into this violent legislative era.