Freedom's Cap
eBook - ePub

Freedom's Cap

The United States Capitol and the Coming of the Civil War

  1. 497 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Freedom's Cap

The United States Capitol and the Coming of the Civil War

About this book

"A tale of political intrigue, famous personalities, technological innovations and bitter feuds, all under the pervasive shadow of slavery." —Steve Raymond, The Seattle Times

The modern United States Capitol is a triumph of both engineering and design. But the history of the Capitol is also the history of America's most tumultuous years. As the new Capitol rose above Washington's skyline, battles over slavery and secession ripped the country apart. Ground was broken just months after Congress adopted the compromise of 1850, which was supposed to settle the "slavery question" for all time. The statueFreedomwas placed atop the Capitol's new dome in 1863, five months after the Battle of Gettysburg.In Freedom's Cap, the award-winning journalist Guy Gugliotta recounts the history and broader meaning of the Capitol building through the lives of the three men most responsible for its construction. We owe the building's scale and magnificence to none other than Jefferson Davis, who remained the Capitol's staunchest advocate up until the week he left Washington to become president of the Confederacy. Davis's protƩgƩ and the Capitol's lead engineer, Captain Montgomery C. Meigs, became quartermaster general of the Union Army and never forgave Davis for his betrayal of the nation. The Capitol's brilliant architect and Meigs's longtime rival, Thomas U. Walter, defended slavery at the beginning of the war but eventually turned fiercely against the South.In impeccable detail, Gugliotta captures the clash of personalities behind the building of the Capitol and the unique engineering, architectural, design, and political challenges the three men collectively overcame to create the iconic seat of American government.

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Yes, you can access Freedom's Cap by Guy Gugliotta in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Architecture General. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Table of Contents
  3. PROLOGUE
  4. 1 - ā€œCONGRESS HOUSEā€
  5. 2 - PLANTING THE SEED
  6. 3 - JEFFERSON DAVIS LOSES ONE AND WINS ONE
  7. 4 - THE CONTEST
  8. 5 - THOMAS U. WALTER IN CHARGE
  9. 6 - SHARKS IN THE WATER
  10. 7 - JEFFERSON DAVIS RETURNS
  11. 8 - ENGINEER IN CHARGE
  12. 9 - WALTER HAS A NEW IDEA
  13. 10 - THE ALIEN MENACE
  14. 11 - ā€œA LIVELY OLD MAN WITH A VERY RED NOSEā€
  15. 12 - BLEEDING KANSAS
  16. 13 - A NEW HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  17. 14 - THE FEUD
  18. 15 - MEIGS UNDER SIEGE
  19. 16 - SWAN SONG
  20. 17 - TYING OFF LOOSE ENDS
  21. 18 - FREEDOM’S CAP
  22. EPILOGUE
  23. ALSO BY GUY GUGLIOTTA
  24. NOTES
  25. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
  26. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  27. INDEX
  28. Copyright Page