Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War by Rachel A. Shelden (review)

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Reviewed by: Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War by Rachel A. Shelden Peter R. Tomas Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War. Rachel A. Shelden. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4696-1085-6, 296 pp., cloth, $34.95. Throughout the antebellum years, the streets of Washington City were busy with the country’s most important decision makers. The city saw representatives from across the country come to debate the vital issues of the antebellum period. Traditional [End Page 450] depictions of the city’s political atmosphere suggest that the fiery debates in Congress between these politicians represented the antagonisms dividing the rest of the country. However, during their political sojourns in Washington these politicians fraternized outside of the walls of Congress as well. This raises questions about these men’s relationships outside the debate hall and how those relationships they affected decision-making. Rachel Shelden sheds light on this issue with a well-researched and fascinating look at Washington’s political atmosphere that will undoubtedly move the historiography forward. Rather than primarily focusing on the spirited rhetoric within Congress to enable an understanding of antebellum Washington’s political nature, Shelden’s work steps into the intimate spaces of Washington City to uncover the day-to-day activities of antebellum politicians. She reveals how personal relationships were molded across party lines outside the walls of Congress, and how these private locations fostered atmospheres that allowed politicians to amicably discuss the important issues of the period. That these relationships emerged from private locations suggests a cultural and social atmosphere within Washington not indicative of the divisions among the rest of the country. According to Shelden, “by working together outside of the halls of Congress at dinners and parties, over drinks, and at the faro table” politicians were able to engage in the political issues at personal levels (171). These personal relationships though, she suggests, ultimately prevented politicians from creating a plan to prevent the Civil War. The book’s thematic and chronological structure grapples with the major political issues and documents of the period and follows the elite men, or “the movers and shakers” as Shelden refers to them, who debated the issues of the period (7). Her first chapter establishes the foundation of her argument by offering an internal look at Congress through the debates over the Wilmot Proviso. Shelden reveals an unorganized, somewhat haphazard atmosphere within congressional session: quorum was hard to maintain, and those in sessions often were not focused on matters at hand, thus creating an atmosphere not conducive to constructive or decisive decision-making. Furthermore, Shelden questions the accuracy behind using the “angry rants” of the Congressional Globe as a source in understanding the nature of antebellum politics (1). She shows how in the case of the Wilmot Proviso speeches were remodeled and edited for the purposes of publication. Her approach combines documents like personal diaries, political housing arrangements, and congressional seating charts to reveal how relationships were molded among politicians. Whether it was Jefferson Davis playing a friendly game of whist against a political opponent, two delinquent senators throwing back drinks at the Capitol’s Hole in the Wall or a presidential function where northern and southern politicians enjoyed an evening together, Washington Brotherhood’s nuanced look at how politicians interacted with one another during the turbulent period leading up to disunion [End Page 451] innovatively examines a side of politics that even in today’s tumultuous atmosphere, the public knows nothing about. Shelden’s ability to contextualize the capitol city as a microcosm of broader events of period, and then document an element of Washington’s social atmosphere with the larger political event is one of the book’s major strengths. Shelden argues that the day-to-day activities outside Congress essentially settled the major antebellum political issues. Her in-depth analysis and innovative use of sources to uncover the personal relationships among Washington politicians remind us as historians to go beyond the surface in order to uncover the emotional and intimate sides of people. Cross-sectional organizations, social gatherings, Washington’s political boarding arrangements, the ability to...