Robert B. Mitchell

The Partisans: James G. Blaine, Roscoe Conkling, and the Politics of Rivalry and Revenge in the Gilded Age tells the story of the bitter feud that dominated American politics after the Civil War. Blaine and Conkling fought on Capitol Hill, at political conventions, and in the behind-the-scenes struggle for power that consumed the presidency of James A. Garfield and stoked the madness that led to his assassination. Their struggle for power charts the course of the Republican Party after the Civil War and highlights the challenges faced by politicians in an era of extreme partisanship.

The Credit Mobilier scandal rocked Washington in 1873. It ruined reputations, contributed to a massive Republican defeat in the 1874 congressional elections and validated anxieties about corruption and concentrated economic power as America staggered toward industrialization.

James B. Weaver's life encompasses many of the dramatic chapters of the American experience. He fought in the Civil War, trekked to California to prospect for gold, and migrated as a child with his family to the Iowa frontier. But it was in the realm of politics that he achieved renown. Weaver ran twice for president, carrying four states as the Populist nominee in 1892, and served three terms in Congress. From Abraham Lincoln's election to the rise of William Jennings Bryan, Weaver played a prominent role in the political battles of the era.