The 1858 Congressional brawl was a physical fight between 30 to 50 congressmen that took place on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives at about 2 a.m. on February 6, 1858. The fight, which broke out during the Bloody Kansas debates over slavery, has been described as both an exemplar of the deadly sectional conflict that fueled the forthcoming American Civil War, and a ridiculous interlude in the history of the United States Congress. Southerners dueled when they felt they were being insulted, but as a rule, Northerners did not. However, when things got very hot, to "defend their honor" against Southern aspersions, the Northerners would indeed squabble up. The 1858 brawl was one such case; overall the years 1857 to 1861 were an era of rising violence throughout the country, which would reach its crescendo in the outbreak of the War.