Īn attempt to oust Brooks from the House of Representatives failed, and he received only token punishment in his criminal trial. : 104 The Massachusetts Legislature reelected Sumner in 1856, 'and let his seat sit vacant during his absence as a reminder of Southern brutality'.

Sumner was seriously injured by Brooks's beating, and was unable to resume his seat in the Senate for three years, though eventually he recovered and resumed his Senate career. He is most remembered for his attack upon abolitionist and Republican Senator Charles Sumner, whom he beat nearly to death Brooks beat Sumner with a cane on the floor of the United States Senate in retaliation for an anti-slavery speech in which Sumner verbally attacked Brooks's first cousin once removed, : 7 South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving from 1853 until his resignation in July 1856 and again from August 1856 until his death.Ī member of the Democratic Party, Brooks was a strong advocate of slavery and states' rights to enforce slavery nationally.

Preston Smith Brooks (Aug– January 27, 1857) was an American politician and member of the U.S.

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