From May 22-24, 1856, abolitionist senator Charles Sumner (R-Mass) gave an impassioned speech to Congress addressing the issue of slavery in the Kansas territory. Sumner's speech included personal attacks on Stephen Douglas (D-Ill) and Andres Butler (D-SC), both pro-slavery senators. Sumner called Douglas a "noise-some, squat, and nameless animal . . . not a proper model for an American senator." He stated Butler's views were the same as "a mistress . . . who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight" referring to said mistress as "the harlot, Slavery."
A friend and contemporary of Andres Butler, Preston Brooks (D-SC), upset over Sumner's personal attacks, appeared the day after the conclusion of Sumner's address. He brought with him a light cane, the type often used to discipline dogs. Without comment or warning, Brooks proceeded to beat Sumner about the head with the metal top, shattering the cane. Brooks stuck again and again as Sumner lurched blindly around the chamber. Leaving a beaten and bloody Sumner on the chamber floor, and a room of shocked representatives, Brooks calmly walked out. The attack lasted only a minute, but the ramifications would be immense.
Both men became heroes for their causes. Residents of South Carolina sent hundreds of replacement canes to Brooks, while Sumner took two years off to recover. Brooks survived a censure effort, but resigned -- only to be later reelected. Sumner returned and served 18 more years, presiding over the conflict he had unwillingly come to symbolize.
-Professor Walter
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