Sumner-Brooks Affair
In May 1856, ardent abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner of
Massachusetts delivered a two-day speech entitled The Crime
Against Kansas. He described excesses that occurred there and the
South’s complicity in them. Only some of what he said was true. A
specific target of his invective was Sen. Andrew P. Butler of South
Carolina, who was not present during the speech.
Sumner himself regarded the speech as the "most thorough phillipic
ever uttered in a legislative body." He described Senator Butler as
having a mistress, slavery, which was polluted in the sight of the
world. Douglas was branded as the "squire of slavery, its very
Sancho Panza, ready to do its humiliating offices." Across the
board, he denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act and all who had
sponsored it. Only the extreme abolitionists were supportive, while
moderates considered his speech to be un-American.
Several days later, Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks,
attacked Sumner with a cane while he was seated at his desk in the
Senate chamber. Sumner was beaten into unconsciousness,
rendering him incapable of resuming his duties for more than three
years.
As a mark of how deep the divide was between the two sections,
“Bully” Brooks became an instant hero in the South. He was the
honored guest at testimonial dinners and amassed a large
collection of canes sent to him from admirers. While a resolution of
censure was pending in the House of Representatives, he abruptly
resigned, but was unanimously re-elected by South Carolina.
Sumner, for his part, was lauded as a near martyr in the North.
Massachusetts re-elected him while he was still unable to take his
seat in the Senate. He sought the advice of doctors in Europe and
America. Although Southerners regarded his illness as "shamming,"
it is likely the the lingering effects were genuine. He didn't return to
his seat in the Senate on a regular basis until late in 1859.
"Sumner-Brooks Affair." U. S. History Online Textbook. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan 2012. <http://www.u-s-history.com/
pages/h225.html>.