Episode 3: Blood on the Senate Floor
(Boston Athenæum)
This week on Scandalized, we go back to the 1850s, and things get violent. A U.S. Senator clings to life after being beaten in the halls of Congress by one of his colleagues. The caning of Senator Charles Sumner; its causes, its consequences, and its familiar political divisions.
Listen Here
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, BoiseStatePublicRadio.org
Episode Notes
Key sources used in the researching and writing of this episode include:
C-Span Books: Q&A with Stephen Puleo
“The Caning: The Assault that Drove America to Civil War” by Stephen Puleo
“The Caning of Charles Sumner” by WilliamJames Hull Hoffer
Southern newspapers reactions to the caning
Dr. Joanne Freeman on the caning and political violence in the 1850s
C-Span panel discussion on the political crisis of the 1850s (features Dr. Rachel Sheldon)
