Sunday, May 21, 2006

This Day in Republican History 5/22/06

May 22, 1856 For denouncing Democrats’ pro-slavery policy, Republican U.S. Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) is beaten nearly to death on floor of Senate by U.S. Rep. Preston Brooks (D-SC) Sumner was a leader of the anti-slavery forces in the Senate. During the debates on slavery in Kansas in May 1856, he delivered a two-day oration—"The Crime against Kansas"—that vehemently condemned Southern advocacy of the expansion of slavery. Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina believed that Sumner had insulted his uncle, Senator Andrew Butler. In retaliation, Brooks used his cane to beat Sumner, who was seated at his desk on the Senate floor, to unconsciousness. The caning of Sumner became a symbol in the North of Southern brutality. Meanwhile, Brooks became a hero in the South for defending Southern honor, and was subsequently reelected by his constituency. Besides his battle against slavery, Sumner led the fight for racial integration of Boston public schools in the 1850s.

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