In 1856, Senator Charles Sumner made a speech against Kansas becoming a slave state. He attacked Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Andrew Butler of South Carolina during his speech. Two days later, Preston Brooks, the young cousin of Andrew Butler, entered the Senate with a heavy cane and attacked Sumner. The attack left Sumner with severe brain and spinal cord injuries, and he was out of the Senate for three years. Sumner became a hero in the North, while the South rejoiced in Preston Brooks's action.
Title: A House Divided: Sectionalism and Civil War, 1848-1865
Author: Richard H. Sewell
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