They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the events of last week will be remembered for decades by its pictures. Unbelievably striking images, and breath-taking videos. Alarming scenes with famous works of art in the background were ones that stood out to me. In particular, one image of a man holding a rebel flag in a hallway filled with portraits. You’ve all likely seen that picture by now, but deeper than face value, that photo has another meaning. The meaning comes from the portrait hanging in the center of the room, and the strange connection the man portrayed has to the 2021 image. This is the story of Senator Charles Sumner and “The Crime Against Kansas”.
In the photograph in question, you see a portrait in an ornate gold frame hanging above the bench. Who is this man? He is none other than Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, who was almost killed on the Senate floor 165 years ago for opposing slavery. Charles Sumner was a United States Senator representing Massachusetts from 1851 until 1874. His most famous incident, and defining moment, came in May of 1856. Just 5 years before the Civil War. Franklin Pierce was nearing the end of what would be his one term as President, and slavery, along with statehood, were the issues of the day. 1856 would see intense debate on the infamous Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would repeal the Missouri Compromise. If you’ll remember, this Missouri Compromise was the legislation that allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state, and prohibited any new slave states above the 36°30’ parallel. Almost all of Missouri lies above this line (it’s the boundary of Missouri and Arkansas, except for our Missouri Bootheel which extends below the line Southeastern Missouri bootheel slave holding cotton plantation farmers were therefore instrumental in helping to pass the Missouri Compromise).
Nearly 40 years later, now the unorganized territories west of Missouri were ready to become territories and states, that of Kansas and Nebraska. Both Kansas and Nebraska lie well above that Missouri parallel line, therefore both would have to be free states. But the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act would allow settlers to decide whether or not slavery would be allowed within their new state borders. This was in direct violation of the Missouri Compromise.
Which sets the stage to lead us to one Mr. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. Charles Sumner was known as the most anti-slavery member of the Senate, even to the point to where he switched parties multiple times to whichever was the most anti-slavery, eventually settling on the Republican Party. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act was being implemented in 1856 amongst bloodily confrontations between pro and anti settlers in the Kansas Territory (and parts of western Missouri), you can believe no one was more fired up that Charles Sumner. And boy was he fired up.
It was finally time to debate Kansas and Nebraska’s statehood, and the issue of slave vs. free state. If you think our political system is slow today, you will be shocked to find out that it took Senator Sumner two months to schedule floor time to speak on Kansas statehood. Sumner was quite the imposing character, at 6’2 and 185 pounds, with a broad chest, and often wearing light colored coats and lavender pants (when black was the new black in the 1850’s legislature). It was May 19th, and the temperature inside the Senate Chamber was north of 90 degrees. Having two months to prepare his speech, it weighed in a 112 pages long. Even more impressive was the fact that though Sumner had special printed all 112 pages, he had memorized every word and sentence of the speech. He titled it, “The Crimes Against Kansas”.
He would give his 112 page speech for 5 hours over two days time. He had absolutely scathing words for President Fillmore who had signed the legislation, and most notably Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Andrew Butler of South Carolina who had co-authored the Act. Sumner described Douglas as appearing that he needed new clean clothes and to be put under a shower, and then turned to him, looking him directly in the face, and calling him “noise-some, squat, and nameless animal”. Though Senator Butler wasn’t present that day, that didn’t spare him from Sumner’s wrath, stating that Butler had taken a lovely mistress, the harlot known as slavery.
The speech made national headlines. Sumner even had copies printed and sent them out across the nation. “The Crimes Against Kansas” was heralded, and it was scoffed at. Within a month his speech had sold over 90,000 copies. Two days after the speech, on May 22nd, 1856 Sumner was sitting alone in the Senate chamber addressing his mail. He was approached by a member of the House of Representatives, Preston Brooks. Brooks stared down at Sumner and told him “Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech twice over carefully. It is libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine”. Preston Brooks just so happen to be a House Rep from South Carolina, and Andrew Butler’s first cousin, who Sumner had seriously rebuked just two days prior. Before Sumner could respond to the accusation, Brooks took his thick walking cane, and started repeatedly beating Sumner with the gold metal head of the cane. Sumner was knocked under his desk, which were fixed to the floor in the Senate Chamber. Stuck, with no where to escape, Brooks continued hitting Sumner over the head with his cane, until the point that the thick cane snapped in two. Finally, two other Representatives heard the commotion, entered the chamber, and drug Sumner out into the hallway. He would collapse in the hallway unconscious.
Sumner would survive, but experience severe head trauma that took months to heal, and caused pain he would suffer for the rest of his life. Due to his recovery, he would not enter the Senate Chamber for another 3 years, until 1859. Sumner was seen in as a hero in the North, and as a villain in the South. And likewise Brooks was heralded with adoration in the South. This event made both politicians increasingly popular. The city of Brooksville, Florida named itself after him immediately after the event, as did Brooks County, Georgia. Brooks was forced to resign in July of 1856 for the incident, but was re-elected the next month in a special election in August to the fill the empty position that he had vacated.
Sumner was loved so much, he would get reelected to the Senate during his recovery period, and they even left his Senate desk empty for two years while he recovered. This incident would be one of the first violent acts, though little-known, that would help lead up to the Civil War a few years later. Franklin Pierce would lose his bid to run for a second term for President, largely because of his signing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Democrats would not select him to run again, and instead picked James Buchanan. Buchanan would win. Pierce’s support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act would make him the only President in history not to be selected by his party to run for second term, and then have his party win.
War was being waged in Congress. Northerners were attacking with harmful and dangerous words. Southerners were attacking with force. This led to little debate, and little freedom speech on the floor of Congress. You could say that it was in the halls of Congress that the very first battles of the Civil War were waged. With one striking photograph, comes a whole history revealed.
Photo Cred – Mike Theiler – Reuters
“The Crimes Against Kansas” – senate.gov
Freeman, Joanne, “Raising Cane”, lamphamsquarterly.org, 9/11/18
Smith, Clint, “The Whole Story in a Single Photo”, theatlantic.com, 1/8/21