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Strange Congress: 1856, Preston Brooks vs. Charles Sumner

On May 22nd, 1856, Preston Brooks, a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina beat and severely injured Senator Charles Sumner, a Republican from Massachusetts with his gutta-percha (a type of tree) cane. The story starts on May 19th of the same year, when Senator Sumner gave a rousing two-day speech of the floor of the United [...]