Brooks

 was a U.S. Congressman from South Carolina who, in 1856, brutally beat Senator of Massachusetts with a cane on the Senate floor, in retaliation for Sumner's anti-slavery speech, particularly Sumner's insults towards Brooks's relative, Senator Andrew Butler, escalating tensions before the Civil War. [1, 2, 3, 4]  

Who was Preston Brooks? 

• A Democratic Congressman from South Carolina, Brooks was a pro-slavery advocate and plantation owner. 

• He was known for his strong sense of honor and adherence to Southern traditions. [1, 5]  

Who did he attack? 

• Brooks attacked Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist from Massachusetts, in the Senate Chamber. [1, 2]  

Why did he attack Sumner? 

• Sumner had delivered a fiery speech, "The Crime Against Kansas," in which he vehemently denounced slavery and insulted Brooks's cousin, Senator Andrew Butler. 

• Brooks saw the speech as a grave insult to his state and relative and sought to punish Sumner. [1, 6, 7]  

The Attack: 

• On May 22, 1856, Brooks found Sumner at his desk and beat him repeatedly with a metal-tipped cane, leaving him bleeding and unconscious. 

• Sumner suffered severe injuries and was unable to return to the Senate for three years. [2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10]  

Aftermath: 

• Brooks was censured by the House but not expelled, resigning in protest and being quickly re-elected. 

• The event, known as the Brooks-Sumner Affair, highlighted the deep sectional divides over slavery, foreshadowing the Civil War. [1, 4, 11, 12]  

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://history.house.gov/Records-and-Research/Listing/hi_003/

[2] https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Caning_of_Senator_Charles_Sumner.htm

[3] https://history.house.gov/Records-and-Research/Listing/c_055/

[4] https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/caning-charles-sumner

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2WJxH6G50M

[6] https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/this-day-in-1856-a-near-murder-on-the-u-s-senate-floor

[7] https://kansasreflector.com/2024/05/22/never-forget-a-senator-was-bludgeoned-as-tempers-flared-over-slavery-in-kansas-168-years-ago/

[8] https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_Sumner.htm

[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41264533/

[10] https://www.facebook.com/USCapHis/posts/on-this-day-in-1856-charles-sumner-was-beaten-by-preston-brooks-with-a-cane-on-t/1099999152164940/

[11] https://townofninetysix.sc.gov/us-senator-preston-brooks

[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner

Henry McClure  
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