jan 1, 1856 - "The Crime Against Kansas" speech by Republican senator Charles Sumner.

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He accused Andrew P. Butler of loving slavery. Butler's Vousin (preston brooks) was a fellow congressman and beat Sumner unconscious with a cane on the Senate floor. Sumner couldn't resume his seat for months. This shocked northerners. Sumner was reelected even though he couldn't serve. Brooks resigned but was reelected and got allies in the south.

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