When Politics Get Personal: Politicians’ Most Insulting Slurs & Feuds

A Senator Nearly Killed Another Politician With A Cane In The 1850s

In 1856, Representative Preston Brooks (D-SC) assaulted Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) with a metal-tipped walking cane, severely injuring him. Sumner was an abolitionist who had given a speech a few days earlier in which he slammed slave owners, including a man who was one of Brooks’ relatives. Brooks originally wanted a duel but was talked out of it. Instead, he nearly killed Sumner during the attack with his cane. He was given a $300 fine. The incident blew up the discussion about slavery in the United States and was one of the leading events to the American Civil War.