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The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 granted the territories of Kansas and Nebraska popular sovereignty over the issue of slavery, which pitted pro and anti slavery forces against each other. The conflict often turned violent and “Bleeding Kansas” became the focus of the slavery debate. In May of 1856 Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered a two-day speech called “the Crime Against Kansas” where he discussed the turmoil over slavery, denouncing the institution and attacking Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. On May 22, 1856 Sen. Butler’s relative, Representative Preston Brooks, approached Sen. Sumner on the Senate floor and said,

Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech carefully, and with as much calmness as I could be expected to read such a speech. You have libelled my State and slandered my relation, who is aged and absent, and I feel it to be my duty to punish you for it…

Rep. Brooks then caned Sen. Sumner “until he was satisfied.”

To determine if Brooks should be punished for his actions, the House of Representatives created a Select Committee to investigate the canning. The above document was submitted as testimony in the hearings, and is the only account that quotes Rep. Brooks describing both the physical attacked and the heated exchange of words.

On July 14, 1856, the House voted 121 to 95 in favor of expelling Rep. Brooks, but because the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority for expulsion, Rep. Brooks was allowed to maintain his seat in the House. However, Brooks felt he should resign from office and let his constituents decide his political fate. He was overwhelmingly reelected by his district. He died in office a year later. Sen. Sumner was absent from the Senate for three years and never fully regained his health. He served in Congress for nearly twenty more years.

Testimony on the Assault of Senator Charles Sumner, 5/28/1856, HR34A-D24.5, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 2127351)