Bleeding Sumner

7/29/2019 Bleeding Sumner

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The Beating of

Charles SumnerBleeding Sumner

Matt Fischer and Jonah Ogburn

G Block H. History


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The conflict between Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner and congressmen Preston Brooks resultedin a brutal beating upon Sumner in 1856. This demonstrated the conflict and lack of compromise inthe Senate that would inevitably lead our country into a Civil War.

On May 22, 1856 the avid abolitionist Charles Sumner was beaten with a cane to within aninch of his life. Charles Sumner was a Senator in Massachusetts and was an important figure in theyoung Radical Republican Party. On May 20 Sumner had delivered a powerful speech to the Senate attime in American history when the tension between the North and South was at an all time. Debateover whether to make the new territories pro or anti slave had recently led to Bleeding Kansas. Hespecifically attacked South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler who supported slavery in the United States

new territories. Sumner referred to Butler as a pimp to slavery and attacked Butlers moral fiber.Butler was not in attendance that day, but congressman for South Carolina Preston Brooks was. Brookswas the nephew of Butler and was livid not only with Sumner for insulting his kin, but alsochallenging the Southern way of life.

Brooks was so angry that just 3 days after Sumners speech he walked into Sumners senateoffice and beat him with a cane. Sumner was badly hurt and never was able to make a full recoveryand he never served in the Senate again. This all happened as a result of the incredible anger, hatred,and tension between the North and South over slavery and what was the countrys future going to looklike. Both men involved instantly became heroes in their respective parties, and even though Brooks

resigned after the attack he was soon reelected. It symbolized to the Country that neither side waswilling to compromise and that the times for politics were coming to an end; war was brewing

Brooks was sent a multitude of canes from southern supporters of his actions towardsSumner. Sumner also became a martyr figure in the north. This event made evident that the disputeover slavery was not going to be solved peacefully and showed the complete lack of unity in the senateand the country. It was a driving force behind the Civil War that would soon end slavery in the UnitedStates.


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This is a map depicting the North

and South territorial division in

1856. The two sides had bitter

disagreements over slavery and

how the territory won in the

Mexican war should be

established in America, slave stateor not. Tension had risen in the

Senate due to different

perspectives on slavery.

I have, Senators, believed from the first that the agitation of the subject of slavery would, if not

prevented by some timely and effective measure, end in disunion. . . it can no longer be disguisedor denied that the Union is in danger. You have thus had forced upon you the greatest and the

gravest question that can ever come under your consideration: How can the Union be preserved?

This document portrays the existing tension in the Senate between Northern and Southern

representatives. John C. Calhoun is saying that the Union is in danger because neither side can agree

upon how to establish slavery in America; whereas the north wants no part of slavery and the south

believes it is a necessity. The union cannot coexist amongst each other with such beliefs, and there isno way to preserve the Union if each side only lives by their terms.


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This cartoon is depicting the Northern viewpoint that Southerners were

force-feeding slavery to Kansas settlers. It was a large topic of

dispute in the country what to do with the new land gained in the

Mexican war. Was is to be slave or free territory? It was decided that

the slaves fate would be left in the hands of it settlers. When this

happened thousands of North abolitionists and Southern slavery

supporters rushed to move to Kansas in order to vote it a free or slave

state. Guerilla warfare broke out in Kansas, this time is referred to as

Bleeding Kansas .

This is the front page of Lawrence Kansas

Tribune and it expresses the views of John

Speer on new pro-slavery legislature that

was recently passed in Kansas. These new

Bogus laws as he called them Requiredan oath from every officer, elected or

appointed, to support the Kansas-Nebraska

Act and the Fugitive Slave Law and

disqualified any person opposed to slavery

as a juror. All this fighting and tension in

Kansas helped pile on the great anger and

tension felt between the North and South.


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With regret, I come again upon

the Senator from South

Carolina [Butler], who,

omnipresent in this debate,

overflowed with rage at the

simple suggestion that Kansashad applied for admission as a

state; and, with incoherent

phrases, discharged the loose

expectoration of his speech, now

upon her representative, and

then upon her people. There was

no extravagance of the ancient

parliamentary debate which hedid not repeat. Nor was there

any possible deviation from

truth which he did not make,

with so much of passion, I am

glad to add, as to save him from

the suspicion of intentional

aberration.

This is Sumners Crime Against Speech

Kansas that he addressed in to the senate

on May 18, 1856. In this he attacked

everything that Senator Andrew Butler ofSouth Carolina believed in. In this excerpt,

he mockingly stated how Butler rejected the

simple idea of admitting Kanas statehood

with such anger and rage. In this speech, he

also refers to Butler as a pimp of slaves

creating even more tension between the

north and south, and also more specifically

between Butlers relatives and Sumner. This

is the speech that put the South over theedge and sent America's slavery dispute to a

slavery war.


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This is Preston Brooks, a South Carolina

congressmen that nearly took the life of Charles

Sumner. Sumner delivered a speech (The crime

against Kansas) to the senate, in which he insulted

Senator Andrew Butler calling him a pimp to

slavery. Butler was A relative to Butler and on

march 22, 1856 Brooks beat Sumner with a gold

tipped cane close to death.

This is Preston Brooks, a South Carolina

congressmen that nearly took the life ofCharles Sumner. Sumner delivered a speech

(The crime against Kansas) to the senate, in

which he insulted Senator Andrew Butler

calling him a pimp to slavery. Butler was

A relative to Butler and on march 22, 1856

Brooks beat Sumner with a gold tipped cane

close to death.


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This picture represents a southern perspective of the

Brooks-Sumner Attack in which Preston Brooks

appears to look well to do, and civilized. It is a good

example of how Southerners and pro-slavery people

thought that Preston Brooks was in the right, and that

his actions were called for. Because of the high

approval felt by Southerners, Brooks received many

gift-canes that represented givers approval of hisactions.

Preston Brooks performed

faithfully and well, at the

bidding of his party, an actwhich he looked upon as a

religious duty, and which his

friends and constituents hailed

with the most frantic

demonstrations of delighted

applause

This is the Eulogy of Preston Brooks found in

the January 27, 1857 edition of the New York

Times. It shows how even after the initial buzzstory simmered down people were still standing

behind Brooks and his egregious actions. Even

in death Brooks was a hero and rallying-point

for Southern beliefs even after his death. It

describes his actions as him following his

religious duty.


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Sumner, M. C., of this city,

was ferociously and brutally

assaulted in the National

Senate Chamber yesterday,

by a cowardly scoundrel

named Brooks. An outrage

so gross and villianous was

never before committed

within the walls of theCapitol. It is rendered

additionally infamous and

barbaric from the fact that

fiendish bystanders

prevented persons who were

disposed from interfering.

This bully Brooks who has

disgraced the name of man,

ought to be branded as a

villain of the blackest dye,

and then mercilessly kicked

from one end of the

continent to the other. The

black mark of Cain will

stand out on his brow to the

last moment of his disgraced

life.

This excerpt is from the New York

Times shortly after the Sumner

attack shows the rage Northernersfelt towards Brooks and those who

supported him. It says the black

mark of his Cain will stand out on

his brow to the last moment of his

disgraced life. This is interesting

because in his eulogy just one year

after the event it praises Brooks and

his life choices. This again shows

the vast different of opinion betweenthe North and the South.

This cartoon drawing represents a

different view-point on the attack. In

this picture you see and innocent

looking Sumner being attacked by avicious looking Brooks while worried

on-lookers are being held back by

laughing Southerners. The cartoon is

captioned Southern Chivalry which

was obviously mocking the idea that

Southerners were some how more

gallant.


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This is a picture of a newspaper article from

Harpers Weekly. This was written in 1861 and was

published within one week of the outbreak of the

Civil War. This article talks about the event between

Sumner and Brooks, the importance of the Border

States, slavery and briefly about events at Fort

Sumter. All these topics were ones that lead to the

start of the civil war, an inevitable result of thedispute about slavery.

This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union it is a struggle

for maintaining in the world that form and substance of government whose

leading object is to elevate the condition of men; to lift artificial weights from

all shoulders; to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all; to afford all an

unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life. Yielding to partial and

temporary departures, from necessity, this is the leading object of the

government for whose existence we contend.

This is a part of the speech Abraham

Lincoln gave after the election to

declare that the only option the Union

had was to enter war against the South.

Lincoln believes the in order for the

United States to remain a country with

a functioning government, there must

be something done to settle the

ongoing dispute over slavery. The act

of violence against Sumner, and later

the attack on Fort Sumter really trigger

the Civil War between the Union and

the Confederates.


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"African American Odyssey: Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements, and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy (Part 2)." American Memory from the Library of Congress -Home Page. ht tp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart3b.html (accessed February 11, 2013)

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"Ninety Six, South Carolina - Preston Brooks." Ninety Six, South Carolina . http://www.townofninetysixsc.com/?page_id=400 (accessed February 15, 2013).

On Court Systems. "The Sectional Split." www.onecourtsystems.com. www.oncoursesystems.com/school/webpage.aspx?id=14424&xpage=743808 (accessed February 12,

2013). "SUMNER, Charles, (1811 - 1874)." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S001068 (accessed February

14, 2013).

Sumner, Charles. "The Crime Agaisnt Kansas." Speech, Senate from United States Government, Washington D.C, May 18, 1856.

Wikipedia. "Charle Sumner." Wikipedia.com/Charles-Sumer. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Southern_Chivalry.jpg (accessed February 12, 2013).

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Bleeding Sumner