Preston
Smith Brooks was
born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, on 5th August, 1819. After
graduating from South Carolina College in 1839, Brooks studied law
before being admitted to the bar in 1845.
Brooks joined the South Carolina Volunteers and served as a captain
in the Mexican War. A member of the
Democratic Party, Brooks was elected
to the 33rd Congress and took his seat in March, 1853.
In 1856 Brooks caused a sensation when he attacked the anti-slavery
campaigner, Charles Sumner. He was beaten
unconscious and his injuries stopped him from attending the Senate
for the next three years.
Faced with attempts by members of the Republican
Party to expel him, Brooks resigned from Congress. However, he
was re-elected later that year and remained in office until his death
in Washington on 27th January, 1857.
The attack on Charles
Sumner by Preston
Brooks (1856)
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
