---------- Forwarded message --------- From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> Date: Mon, Oct 5, 2020 at 2:29 PM Subject: H-Net Review [H-FedHist]: Johnsen on Moser, 'The White House's Unruly Neighborhood: Crime, Scandal and Intrigue in the History of Lafayette Square' To: <[email protected]> Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]>
Edward P. Moser. The White House's Unruly Neighborhood: Crime, Scandal and Intrigue in the History of Lafayette Square. Jefferson McFarland, 202. 261 pp. $39.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-4766-7486-5. Reviewed by Joan Johnsen (Independent Scholar) Published on H-FedHist (October, 2020) Commissioned by Caryn E. Neumann Edward P. Moser, the operator of the Lafayette Square Tour of Scandal, Assassination & Intrigue, has written a book to flesh out his tour. _The White House's Unruly Neighborhood: Crime, Scandal, and Intrigue in the History of Lafayette Square_ is an entertaining work of popular history that is likely to appeal to even long-time residents of Washington, DC. A surprisingly comprehensive list of references for each entry encourages further research. The book is misnamed. Moser covers the entire downtown of the District, often using a building or statue to venture further afield. As one example, Moser begins with the statue of Albert Gallatin at the entrance of the Treasury Building on Pennsylvania Avenue before focusing on Gallatin's role in the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. It is a bit of stretch to link the Whiskey Rebellion to crime, scandal, or intrigue, although George Washington and Alexander Hamilton might disagree. Nevertheless, the chapter is a well-written introduction to the forgotten Swiss founding father of the United States. The chapter on the Camel Corps is another that ventures far from the District. The chapter on places connected to Alexander Hamilton will appeal to fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda's play. Chapters that focus more tightly on crime cover Major Henry Rathbone, who sat with the Lincolns in Ford's Theatre on a fateful April evening before going murderously insane, and the long-lost brothels on the present-day site of the Smithsonian Institution. The scandals include the entire life of Daniel Sickles, who shot to death the son of national anthem writer Francis Scott Key between bouts of adultery and swindling, as well as the dueling death of naval hero Stephen Decatur. The tragic life of socialite Kate Chase and the treasonous life of Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow are also covered. Most of the subjects, such as suicidal Clover Adams of the Hay-Adams Hotel, are addressed elsewhere in full-length books, but Moser's work serves as a good introduction. There is also quite a bit of diversity, including the allegedly gay life of Baron von Steuben, but Frederick Douglass and his then-scandalous second marriage to a white woman is missing. Minor editing issues slightly mar the book: Greenhow is identified as "Greenough" in her chapter except in the references. This would be a good purchase for a history-minded visitor to Washington, DC, or a resident looking for the stories behind the buildings. Citation: Joan Johnsen. Review of Moser, Edward P., _The White House's Unruly Neighborhood: Crime, Scandal and Intrigue in the History of Lafayette Square_. H-FedHist, H-Net Reviews. October, 2020. URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55553 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. -- Best regards, Andrew Stewart -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#2254): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/2254 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/77326148/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
