Session 26: The Caning of Senator Charles Sumner

Update: 2025-03-21

Description

Hey Crimestituents! We're gaveling in another session of Crime in Congress, a new true crime podcast with hosts Harley and Sarah that examines political scandals and infamous crimes with elected officials.

This session, we are taking you back to middle school history class, discussing the brutal caning of Senator Charles Sumner by House of Representatives Member Preston Brooks - an event that stoked the flames of the Civil War.

Sources:

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/CrimeAgainstKSSpeech.pdf https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/SumnerInvestigation1856.pdf

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Crime_Against_Kansas.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20070929061114/http://www.olden-times.com/oldtimenebraska/n-csnyder/nbstory/story25.html

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/preston-brooks

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101074835990&seq=1107

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/charles-sumner-and-preston-brooks

https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Discipline/

Gavel strike audio by odditonic

Instrumental intro/outro music by Dmitry Taras