Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to flog, to beat severely.

1880		Daily Globe (St Paul, Minn.) 28 Dec. 4/1: An Amusin’ little cuss [was] charged with getting boozed, and bulldozing his better half.
1881		Sat. Rev. (London) 9 July 40 2: To bull-dose a negro in the Southern States means to flog him to death or nearly to death [F&H].
1887		in J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era (1909) 54/1: Bull-doze, To bull-doze (Amer.-Eng., 19 cent.). [...] Mr Rees, an American authority on obscure words, says (1887) ‘A bull-doze is a term used in inflicting punishment upon an unruly animal; the weapon a strap made out of the hide of a bull. During the existence of slavery the term “bull-doze” was used when a negro was to be whipped; the overseer was instructed to give him as many lashes as was applied to an animal, hence the term “bull-doze”.’ Maybe ‘doze’ has reference to dozen.
1895		Times (TX) 23 April. n.p.: The toughs who rallied gave it out that they would bulldoze Attorney John Wesley Hardin if he tried professionally to defeat their schemes.

2. to intimidate, to coerce, to force through violence; thus bulldosing/bulldozing n. and adj.

1876		Chicago Daily Trib. 18 July 2: Their votes, unfortunately, make a Republican ward, and the white bulldozing, shot-gun riders from afar are ordered there to disturb, to kill, to make hell of a peaceful neighborhood, and the citizens are powerless to protect their colored neighbors, being themselves intimidated to such an extent that they dare not give the names of the Democratic Committee having charge of the killing.
1877		Chicago Street Gazette 1/1: William, you want to be more prompt, and not be bulldozing around other places.
1880		Omaha Dly Bee (NE) 28 Aug. 4/3: A number of Scandinavians [...] were bulldozed into voting at the U.P. polls.
1887		(con. 1861–5) J.D. Billings Hardtack and Coffee 207: By dint of bulldozing, and an abundance of hard service, most of them got their fine sentimental notions pretty well knocked out before they had been many weeks in camp.
1894		Mirror of Life 26 May 14/1: I refused to be buncoed or bulldozed.
1908		Cincinnati Post 14 May in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 67: The men whom he taught to bulldoze umpires and behave like Bowery roughs.
1917		Van Loan ‘A Morning Workout’ in Old Man Curry 222: You big, bulldozin’ windbag.
1922		Joyce Ulysses 130: Foot and mouth disease! the editor cried in scornful invective. Great nationalist meeting in Borriss-in-Ossory. All balls! Bulldosing the public!
1930		‘Leslie Charteris’ Enter the Saint 113: A real bull-dozing would make too much noise, and we haven’t a place to do it.
1935		Z.N. Hurston Mules and Men (1995) 123: Ah shot a man once up in West Florida, killed him dead for bull-dozin’ me in a skin game, and got clean away.
1941		B. Schulberg What Makes Sammy Run? (1992) 14: I was letting a twelve-buck-a-week halfpint bulldoze me.
1953		T. Runyon In For Life 70: He looked like a bully from way back, but he never bulldozed me.
1958		Hughes & Bontemps Book of Negro Folklore 402: I got a woman she’s pretty but she’s too bulldozing.