CONTENTS
Introductions: Tobacco-Stained Rugs and Benjamin Brown French
1. The Union Incarnate for Better and Worse: The United States Congress
2. The Mix of Men in Congress: Meeting Place of North and South
3. The Pull and Power of Violence: The Cilley-Graves Duel (1838)
4. Rules of Order and the Rule of Force: Dangerous Words and the Gag Rule Debate (1836–44)
5. Fighting for the Union: The Compromise of 1850 and the Benton-Foote Scuffle (1850)
6. A Tale of Two Conspiracies: The Power of the Press and the Battle over Kansas (1854–55)
7. Republicans Meet the Slave Power: Charles Sumner and Beyond (1855–61)
Epilogue: “I Witnessed It All”
Appendix A. A Word About Words: Party Abbreviations and Sectional Loyalties
Appendix B. A Note on Method: Constructing Fights and Deconstructing Emotions