John Bicknell
The 1856 presidential race was the most violent peacetime election in American history. War between proslavery and antislavery settlers raged in Kansas; a congressman shot an Irish immigrant at a Washington hotel; and another congressman beat a US senator senseless on the floor of the Senate. But amid all the violence, the campaign of the new Republican Party, headed by famed explorer John C. Frémont, offered a ray of hope: a major party
...The year 1844 saw a momentous presidential election, religious turmoil, westward expansion, and numerous other interwoven events that profoundly affected the U.S. as a nation. Author and journalist John Bicknell details these compelling events in this unusual history book. He explains how the election of James K. Polk assured the expansion that brought Texas, California, and Oregon into the union. This took place amidst anti-Mormon and anti-Catholic
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