Charles+Sumner

= CHARLES SUMNER (1811 - 1874) =

by Justin Higginbotham

__** Born **__: January 6th, 1811 in Boston, Massachusetts __** Died **__: March 11, 1874 in Washington, DC
 * [[image:http://blueandgraytrail.com/images_large/sumner_caning.jpg width="680" height="455" align="center" caption="Charles Sumner getting beaten to a pulp by Preston Brooks with the rest of the Southern Senators chanting "Hit him again!""]] || [[image:http://www.old-picture.com/mathew-brady-studio/pictures/Charles-Sumner-002.jpg width="285" height="571" align="center" caption="Charles Sumner getting his photograph taken in his later years."]] ||


 * __** Biography/ Accomplishments **__//://
 * Reading "An Appeal in Favor of the Class of Americans Called Africans" by Lydia Maria Child led him to be more involved in the fight to abolish slavery
 * Also focused on gaining support for education and prison reform
 * In 1834 Charles was admitted the the bar, practiced Boston Law after finishing Harvard
 * Lecturer at Harvard Law School from 1836 through 1837
 * 1837 to 1840 was spent in Europe studying and learned the French, German, and Italian language
 * Lord Brougham of the United Kingdom had said about Sumner after meeting with him: "I had never met with any man of Sumner's age of such extensive legal knowledge and natural legal intellect."
 * 4th of July speech in Boston in 1845 was where Sumner first gave a message to his peers what he really wanted to persue in politics. "The True Grandeur of Nations" was the name of his speech where war, freedom, and peace was discussed. This speech brought much attention to him
 * Charles and his aquantance Horace Mann worked along side with the main idea shared by most Northerners. Sumner opposed the War with Mexico which took place in the late 1830s to the late 1840s. He said "the lives of Mexicans are sacrificed in this cause; and a domestic question, which should be reserved for bloodless debate in our own country, is transferred to fields of battle in a foreign land." He is saying that this war was mainly a plan of the South's to expand slavery and this was a waste of time
 * In 1847, Charles was offered a postition in the Whig party for Congress but did not accept
 * Organized Free Soil party
 * April 24, 1848 was when Charles Sumner surprisingly won the election for Massachusetts senator. Surprising because Massachusetts was ruled by the Democrats
 * In May 19, 1856, Charles Sumner gave a speech today called "The Crime Against Kansas", in which he verbally attacked the southern senators for their favor of slavery. The speech was aimed at Andrew P. Butler from South Carolina (made fun of his impaired speech)
 * On May 22, Andrew P. Butler's nephew Preston Brooks who was a Congressman approached Sumner and said he read his speech over twice and that he insulted his uncle and South Carolina for not respecting their views on slavery. He preceded to beat Sumner in the head, who would suffer from brain damage and wouldn't come back to his Senate seat for three years || **__ Fun Facts __**:
 * Was 6"4
 * Very loud and clear voice
 * Graduated Harvard in 1830 and in 1833 completed Harvard Law School
 * Was beat in the head with a cane in May of 1856 by Preston Brooks
 * Never liked to truely state him ideas, held back from doing this during his time as Senator
 * Shared his views and ideals with Abraham Lincoln, both influenced each other
 * Part of many political parties, Republican was what he was most famous for
 * Senator in Massachusetts for twenty-three years
 * Despised the South in general
 * Died of Heart Failure ||

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 * **__ Bibliography __:**
 * Dictionary of American Biography; The Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law; Donald, David Herbert.
 * Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War. New York: Knopf, 1960; Donald, David Herbert.
 * Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man. New York: Knopf, 1970.
 * Behn, Richard. "Charles Sumner - Abraham Lincoln." Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation & 13th Amendment. The Lincoln Institute. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. .
 * Skimkin, John. "Charles Sumner." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Sparticus Educational. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. .
 * "Charles Sumner." NNDB: Tracking the Entire World. Soylent Communications. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. .
 * "SUMNER, Charles - Biographical Information." SUMNER,Charles. Ed. Congress. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. . || [[image:http://www.andrewjohnson.com/11biographieskeyindividuals/SumnerGammaCrop250.jpg align="center"]]

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