may 22, 1856 - Caning of Charles Sumner
Description:
Senator Preston Brooks (D-SC) attacks abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) with a gold-tipped walking cane. This was in response to Sumner's recent speech that strongly condemned slaveholders, including a relative of Brooks. Brooks nearly beat him to death, not stopping even when his cane snapped in two. Several senators tried to intervene, but others still held them back. Eventually, the two were broken up and Sumner was sent to the hospital, while Brooks was arrested and fined the equivalent of $8000. This attack sharply polarized the nation, with Southerners celebrating Brooks as a hero and the North recognizing Sumner as a martyr of sorts.
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