LS, do you have any articles on the history of political discourse in the US? When I heard Specter talking about “no booing” I was stunned. I remember reading how violent it was during political debates during the founding of our country, but I would love to know some specifics.
You ask a good question. I know of a book called "American Mobbing," which looked at mob violence in the antebellum period, which was almost exclusively related to slavery. I detail in my book "Banking in the American South" a knife fight (!!) on the Arkansas House floor that left one guy dead in a "debate" over . . . wolf pelts. And remember Preston Brooks caned Sen. Sumner badly in the 1850s, nearly killing him, on the floor of the U.S. senate.
For one particular reference, though, no. I suggest you just go to Amazon and enter "political discourse history" and it will give you plenty of books.