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How Did Charles Sumner Influence The Civil War

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A martyr; a politician; a man who spoke with the purpose to make change. That defines Charles Sumner. Charles Sumner influenced the Civil War and our nation by giving masterful, yet ruthless, speeches. He influenced the war by not standing for slavery, and fighting for slaves’ rights no matter what. And lastly, he influenced the nation by becoming a martyr, and in doing so, he ended up showing the true colors of both the North and South. Sumner was influential during the Civil War due to his impactful speeches. If the sword is the weapon of a knight, then words were Sumner’s weapon of choice. One of the most masterful speeches that Sumner ever gave was inside August 1852. This speech was also Charles Sumner's first speech inside of Senate. Inside of this four hour long speech, Sumner did not once use any notes, and at the same time …show more content…

Sumner became a martyr after his The Crime Against Kansas speech, and his patronizing of many Southern senators. Exactly two days after Sumner gave this speech, a senator of South Carolina by the name of Preston Brooks confronted Sumner and then beat him with his walking cane (Dictionary of American Biography). Sumner was seriously injured from this beating and had to leave Congress to go and recover. During this almost 4 year period, Massachusetts left his seat completely open and didn’t fill his spot with a new senator. Massachusetts did this to show Sumner’s sacrifice and martyrdom. This whole ordeal also brought brand new opinions for both sides. The Northerners saw this action as the true colors of slavery and what slavery would bring this country to; while the Southerners thought that Brooks had every right to do what he did, completely based off of the fact that, Brooks did not kill Sumner, and Sumner insulted and criticized many Southern politicians and senators during his The Crime Against Kansas speech

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