may 22, 1856 - Brooks - attack on Summer

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Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner blasted the bill's author Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina, whom he accused of embracing slavery as "a mistress." South Carolina Rep. Preston Brooks, who was engrained with a strong sense of state-pride, stomped into Sumner's senate chamber on May 22, 1856 to give him a piece of his mind. He gave him a lot more than that. Brooks beat Sumner with a wooden cane, stopping only when the cane shattered.

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