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To: grey_whiskers

IIRC, the one with the stick was a Democrat. After this incident, members took to carrying pistols and Bowie knives on the floor of the House and Senate.


125 posted on 10/24/2017 4:54:04 PM PDT by Chuckster ("Them Rag Heads just ain't rational" Curly Bartley 1973)
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To: Chuckster
IIRC, the one with the stick was a Democrat.

"REPRESENTATIVE PRESTON BROOKS of South Carolina thought Sumner went too far. Southerners in the nineteenth century were raised to live by an unwritten code of honor. Defending the reputation of one's family was at the top of the list. A distant cousin of Senator Butler, Brooks decided to teach Charles Sumner a lesson he would not soon forget. Two days after the end of Sumner's speech, Brooks entered the Senate chamber where Sumner was working at his desk. He flatly told Sumner, "You've libeled my state and slandered my white-haired old relative, Senator Butler, and I've come to punish you for it." Brooks proceeded to strike Sumner over the head repeatedly with a gold-tipped cane. The cane shattered as Brooks rained blow after blow on the hapless Sumner, but Brooks could not be stopped. Only after being physically restrained by others did Brooks end the pummeling."

source

134 posted on 10/24/2017 5:01:03 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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