The Sumner-Brooks Episode happened on May 22, 1856, in Washington D.C. Prior to this episode, Charles Sumner had given a speech about abolishing slavery in the United States. He spoke about bleeding Kansas and everything that was going on there at the time. He mentioned the name of a specific Senator, Andrew Butler, accusing him of committed crimes in Kansas. Sumner was sitting in the chambers waiting the meeting to start, Congressman Preston Brooks, the nephew of Andrew Butler, attacked him with a walking stick. Brooks succeeded with his attack because another Congressman was blocking the other Senators with
a pistol he was swinging around. Brooks beat Sumner in the head with the walking stick so hard that pieces literally flew off. Sumner's attack was so bad that he would not appear back in the public eye again until November 5th of that year. Senator Charles Sumner did not go back into the Senate for another three years after that although he was continuously reelected by the Massachusetts General Court. The Southerners were proud that Brooks stood up for his rights, his cause, his family, and his state. They were proud that someone would fight for what they believed in. The Northerners did not like what happened because violence and physicality were starting to pop up more and happen more in the United States and Northerners particularly did not like violence(maybe why they were anti-slavery).
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