The Man Behind the Cane: Preston Brooks, Political Violence, and the Road to the Civil War

"In 1856, South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks assaulted Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner with a cane, defending his family's honor and the rights of slaveholders. Not only did Brooks beat Sumner unconscious-he also fueled a nationwide clash over slavery that ended in civil war. Historian Paul Quigley brings Brooks to life more vividly than ever before, revealing how his personal struggles shaped the fateful decision to attack Sumner. Raised in the slaveholding culture of honor and scarred by missed opportunities for glory in the Mexican-American War, Brooks came to believe in the redemptive power of violence. Blending intimate personal history with wide-ranging analysis of political debates, Quigley uses Brooks's life to examine the deeper currents propelling the United States to the brink of destruction. Brooks's story reveals the increasingly fraught relationship between words and violence: When did words such as "liar" or "coward" justify duels? Did abolitionists' verbal attacks on slaveholders warrant physical retaliation? How did the way Americans talked about violence affect the likelihood that it would occur? With the caning, Brooks sparked an ominous national debate over the righteousness of bloodshed in a polarized nation. The Man Behind the Cane speaks to enduring questions about masculinity, honor, free speech, and violence in American public life. By exploring how words and violent behavior became perilously entangled in the fight over slavery, Quigley casts new light on the origins of the Civil War and the ongoing dangers of political violence in our own time"-- Provided by publisher.