Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 05 (of 20)

In Short

This volume gathers the public addresses, Senate speeches, and personal correspondence of Charles Sumner from May 1855 through mid-1856. Documenting a pivotal moment in American history, the text follows Sumner as he rallies Northern opposition to slavery, dissects constitutional law, and delivers his momentous "Crime Against Kansas" speech. The volume concludes with the immediate, dramatic aftermath of his brutal beating on the Senate floor by Preston Brooks. It endures as a primary testament to the fiery, uncompromising rhetoric that defined the political crisis leading up to the Civil War.

The Story

The volume opens in May 1855 with Sumner laying out the fundamental principles of the abolitionist cause before a New York audience. He argues that political action must be rooted in moral law, identifying slavery not as a system with occasional flaws, but as an inherently abusive institution built on transforming human beings into chattel. To dismantle it, Sumner calls for a unified Northern coalition—a "Backbone Party"—that can transcend past partisan divisions and challenge the dominant political power of slaveholders.

As the months progress, Sumner addresses an array of pressing national issues. Through public letters and speeches, he critiques short-lived political factions that rely on secrecy or nativism, contending that true moral reform requires open daylight and broad inclusivity. In the Senate, he engages in rigorous constitutional debate, arguing against executive overreach in the abrogation of international treaties and asserting that the power to alter supreme law belongs exclusively to Congress.

The central climax of the collection builds through early 1856 around the escalating crisis in Kansas. As armed pro-slavery forces from Missouri cross the border to intimidate settlers and seize control of the territorial government, Sumner receives encouraging letters from allies urging him to speak out forcefully. On May 19 and 20, 1856, Sumner delivers his famous address, "The Crime Against Kansas." In sweeping, sharp prose, he systematically denounces the fraud and violence in the territory, exposes the rhetoric of pro-slavery leaders like Stephen Douglas and Andrew Butler, and demands the immediate admission of Kansas as a free state.

The immediate narrative arc takes a violent turn in the closing sections. On May 22, two days after concluding his speech, Sumner is attacked at his Senate desk by Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina, who bludgeons him unconscious with a cane. The text shifts to document the immediate fallout: eyewitness accounts of the assault, public resolutions from across the North condemning the act, letters of support from figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Wendell Phillips, and news reports covering the subsequent sudden death of Brooks in early 1857. The volume ends with Sumner incapacitated yet steadfast, forced by severe injury to temporarily step away from the Senate floor while his words continue to reverberate across a divided nation.

How It Unfolds

The moral foundation is laid Sumner delivers "The Antislavery Enterprise" in New York, defining slavery as a collection of legal abuses that must be confronted directly. He urges Northerners to set aside old political feuds and form a unified, principled party to reclaim the national government.

Navigating political and legal debates In Senate speeches and public letters, Sumner addresses secondary political issues, attacking secret political organizations and defending constitutional limits on power. He insists that treaties carry the full weight of law and can only be abrogated through an Act of Congress.

The Kansas conflict deepens As violence erupts in Kansas, correspondents from across the country write to Sumner, urging him to confront the pro-slavery aggression. Reports confirm that armed groups have invaded the territory to subvert local elections at the point of a revolver.

Delivering the historic address Sumner takes the Senate floor to deliver "The Crime Against Kansas," launching a two-day indictment against the forced imposition of slavery on the territory. He directly rebukes opposing Senators and demands that Congress respect the democratic rights of free settlers.

Violence on the Senate floor Days after the speech, Representative Preston Brooks brutally assaults Sumner at his desk, pinning him beneath heavy furniture and beating him until he is senseless. Eyewitness accounts detail the severity of the attack and the bloody scene left behind.

The nation responds The volume concludes with widespread northern outrage, expressions of solidarity from leading intellectuals, and medical updates regarding Sumner’s forced recovery. News arrives months later of Brooks's sudden, fatal illness, marking a grim closing chapter to the violent clash.

The People

• Charles Sumner – A Senator from Massachusetts and dedicated abolitionist who seeks to use constitutional law and moral rhetoric to stop the spread of slavery. He demands a unified Northern resistance to the slave power, facing intense hostility from political opponents that ultimately culminates in a life-altering physical attack.
• Stephen A. Douglas – Senator from Illinois and a primary target of Sumner's rhetoric. Depicted as an aggressive defender of the pro-slavery territorial policies, Douglas actively clashes with Sumner on the Senate floor, attempting to enforce Northern submission to the contested Kansas government.
• Preston S. Brooks – A pro-slavery Representative from South Carolina who seeks to avenge alleged insults to his home state and relative, Senator Andrew Butler. He enters the Senate chamber and violently strikes Sumner down with a cane, an act that galvanizes Northern outrage and accelerates national division.
• Wendell Phillips – A close friend and fellow abolitionist leader who writes to Sumner during his recovery. He urges Sumner to prioritize his health over an immediate return to politics, reassuring him that his sacrifices have already secured his standing and advanced the anti-slavery cause.

In Its Own Voice

When defining the fundamental evil of human bondage, Sumner emphasizes the necessity of direct moral engagement over political avoidance:

"In this work, the first essential, practical requisite is, that the question shall be openly and frankly confronted."

Appealing for solidarity across Northern states against pro-slavery interests, he calls for a broad, unyielding coalition:

"Face to face against the Slave Oligarchy must be rallied the UNITED MASSES of the North, in compact political association,--planted on the everlasting base of justice,--knit together by instincts of a common danger and holy sympathies of humanity..."

Addressing his political opponents directly on the Senate floor during the Kansas debate, Sumner frames their struggle as an impossible fight against fundamental human nature:

"With finite power he wrestles with the infinite, and he must fall."

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume explores the absolute incompatibility between constitutional democracy and the expansion of chattel slavery. Sumner's arguments center on the idea that true political principles are simply moral truths applied to public governance. The text examines how democratic institutions become corrupted when law is subverted by violence and fraud, as demonstrated by the border incursions in Kansas. Through his speeches, Sumner addresses whether a free republic can survive when its governing bodies permit human beings to be treated as property. Ultimately, the volume exposes how ideological conflict inevitably turns to physical violence when legal and parliamentary norms break down under the weight of severe moral injustice.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers an unvarnished look at the explosive political climate of pre-Civil War America through the words of one of its most articulate and uncompromising figures. Readers interested in American history, political rhetoric, and constitutional law will appreciate the sheer power of Sumner's prose and the meticulous legal frameworks he constructs to oppose human bondage.

Reading these works requires navigating nineteenth-century oratorical styles, extensive classical and biblical references, and lengthy legal citations. The tone is formal, earnest, and deeply rooted in the parliamentary debates of its era. Yet, beneath the dense historical context lies a tense, dramatic narrative of a nation pulling itself apart at the seams. What remains with the reader is the vivid reality of a time when legislative debate was not merely a battle of words, but a physical hazard, capturing the intense courage and terrible conflict that preceded the American Civil War.