“Shelden does an admirable job in illustrating how what is said on the floor of the House or Senate might not always be the best guide for historians.” — Roll Call
“A charming, superbly crafted examination of Washington, D.C., during the years when the slavery issue rose to prominence in American politics and then tore the country apart.” — America’s Civil War
“Thoroughly researched and richly detailed. . . . [An] interesting and colorful tale.” — Washington Post
“Shelden’s work offers valuable insight into a male-dominated culture that was almost purposefully concealed from the public, adds a vital ingredient to our understanding of why politicians seemed peculiarly unable to grasp the likely repercussions of their actions in the late antebellum era, and provides the reader with an engaging and not infrequently entertaining read.” — Civil War Book Review
“A fresh perspective. . . . Students of American political culture outside the antebellum era and those seeking historical support for either optimistic (the nation endured) or cynical (despite the bloodiest war in American history) interpretations of contemporary political conditions will likewise find much to engage their interest.” — North Carolina Historical Review
“A refreshing and fruitful approach to political history.” — Journal of American History
“[A] highly illuminating study of Washington political culture in the 1840s and 1850s.” — Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
“A fresh and welcome grounding to the sometimes high-flying rhetoric of nineteenth-century political speech and policy-making. . . . A fascinating study of life behind the curtain of Washington society.” — The Historian
“Shelden pulls back the façade of sectionalist pistol-wielding and Bowie knife–brandishing to reveal the surprising brotherhood that existed within the antebellum Washington community.” — Mark E. Neely Jr., McCabe-Greer Professor of Civil War History, Pennsylvania State University
“In her striking new book, Rachel Shelden goes behind the scenes to show readers a Washington, D.C., in the years before the Civil War that rarely reached the public eye. She highlights sociable day-to-day life in boardinghouses and hotels, where Northerners and Southerners took their measure of each other and often became friends. When secession suddenly brought their world to a screeching halt, many of the dismayed principals tried vainly to stem the torrent.”—Daniel W. Crofts, The College of New Jersey
