Episode 2 of 4

Caning of Charles Sumner

When: May 22, 1856
Where: United States Senate chamber
Part of: Bleeding Kansas: Sacking of Lawrence, Caning of Sumner, Pottawatomie massacre and Battle of Black Jack

Representative Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the Senate chamber on May 22, 1856.

Brooks attacked Sumner in retaliation for Sumner's 'Crime against Kansas' speech. Sumner was unable to return to duty for three years. The incident became a symbol of the conflict over slavery, influencing the 1856 elections.

Sources

Caning of Charles Sumner Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.