Francis W. Pickens and the politics of destruction

In antebellum South Carolina, politics was a passion interlaced with calculation and intrigue. John Edmunds offers a complete examination of Francis Pickens and uses him as a vehicle to reveal the labyrinths of antebellum South Carolina political life. This novel exploration of what was perhaps the most archaic political, social, and economic system in the nation provides another dimension to the study of South Carolina history. - Jacket flap.