America's Deadliest Election: The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History

by Dana Bash

Overview

Coming soon! America's Deadliest Election by Dana Bash will be available Aug 25, 2026.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335002211
Publisher:	Hanover Square Press
Publication date:	08/25/2026
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Dana Bash is CNN’s chief political correspondent and the anchor and host of Sunday morning’s State of the Union, serving as the network’s lead reporter covering campaigns and Congress. She regularly acts as a moderator for CNN’s political town hall specials and debates, including CNN’s first debate of the 2020 election cycle in Detroit. She has conducted sit-down interviews with major players in the political sphere during 2016, including Donald Trump, Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders, and Governors Jeb Bush and John Kasich. She is based in Washington, DC.

Editorial Reviews

In snappy and accessible prose, Bash and Fisher distill key themes, including how elected leaders such as McEnery ‘let loose a monster’ when they ‘approved violence as an acceptable means to resolve political disputes.’ America’s Deadliest Election is the kind of book that might generate fresh interest in our country’s brief post-Civil War attempt at creating a multiracial democracy.”—The Washington Post


“Her meticulous re-creation of the confrontation, written with the prolific author David Fisher, couldn’t be more well timed.... You should read this book if you crave historical insight into the chaos that enveloped the United States following Trump’s loss in 2020. You might also consider reading it if you fear what may come in the months and years ahead. If nothing else, it will remind you that American Democracy has fought for its life before—and, at least for now, it’s still here."—Air Mail

“Democracy is so fragile, and these series of stunning events from some 150 years ago are a reminder that a foundational principle—the peaceful transfer of power—is so easily shattered by people who will do anything to remain in office and play upon voters’ fears and biases.” —Nicolle Wallace, anchor of Deadline: White House on MSNBC

“It is astonishing to discover that a violent election in Louisiana in 1872 would have such a profound national impact on civil rights. America's Deadliest Election is both an important and gripping story and is a reminder that American history never ceases to surprise us.” —Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author and coauthor of Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure, and the Bloody Conquest of the American West

“This is an extremely important book about a little known but essential aspect of our history. It is the story of how we got to today and, unfortunately, where we might be going tomorrow.” —Fred Gray, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and author of Alabama v. King and Bus Ride to Justice

"A harrowing dive into Louisiana’s gubernatorial election of 1872…an elucidating case study in America’s bitter history of refusing to recognize election results....The authors manage to render the tortuous details of these political shenanigans engaging, and the consequences timely and fresh. Enlightening cautionary tale whose fury resonates today."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2024-06-28
A harrowing dive into Louisiana’s gubernatorial election of 1872, which pitted defenders of Reconstruction against white supremacists.

CNN journalist Bash and veteran co-author Fisher offer an elucidating case study in America’s bitter history of refusing to recognize election results. In Reconstruction-era Louisiana, election integrity was deeply compromised by vying Democratic and Republican forces. At issue was the refusal of the former Confederates, white supremacists, and Andrew Johnson Democrats to accept the civil rights of formerly enslaved people staunchly supported by Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Party. The charismatic, corrupt “carpetbagger” Republican Henry Warmoth became governor of Louisiana in 1868, allying himself with President Ulysses S. Grant and African Americans and instituting a patronage system. That state’s 1868 election had been marked by violence and fraud, much of it due to the makeshift political system constructed "in the ruins of war." By the gubernatorial election of 1872, the authors comment, "at every step in the process there existed some type of intimidation, cheating or fraud intended to change the outcome.” A feud within the Louisiana Republican Party led to Warmoth backing Democrat (and Confederate war hero) John McEnery against Republican William P. Kellogg, a member of the faction that charged Warmoth with betraying the African Americans who had helped elect him. Weeks after the 1872 election, ballots were still being tabulated; observers and reporters were frequently denied access to observe the counting, and both sides claimed victory. Dueling inaugurations took place, along with open insurrection and a massacre of Blacks in Colfax County. Court cases vied to decide the issue, essentially leaving the matter up to the states inUS v Cruikshank, a blow to Reconstruction that laid the foundation of Southern segregation. The authors manage to render the tortuous details of these political shenanigans engaging, and the consequences timely and fresh.

Enlightening cautionary tale whose fury resonates today.

Kirkus Reviews