When a congressman beat a senator unconscious, America confronted the limits of free speech

historyanalysisThe Conversation1856 · Washington, D.C., USA

When a congressman beat a senator unconscious, America confronted the limits of free speech

the gist

On May 22, 1856, South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks walked into the US Senate chamber and beat Senator Charles Sumner unconscious with a cane. Brooks was retaliating for a speech in which Sumner condemned slavery and insulted a relative of Brooks. The attack divided the country: Northerners saw it as an assault on free speech, while many Southerners argued that antislavery speech was so incendiary it deserved no protection. The caning helped push the nation toward civil war and fed the rise of the new Republican Party, whose slogan was free soil, free speech, free labor, free men.

so what

Its questions about what speech can justify are still argued about in American politics today.

the bigger pattern

Violence against legislators has recurred in US history, and debates over whether speech can justify violence have returned in later eras. Historians often describe the caning as one of the events that pushed the country toward the Civil War.

more on this

background

The caning of Charles Sumner, or the Brooks–Sumner Affair, occurred on May 22, 1856, in the United States Senate chamber, when Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to beat Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts, nearly to death. Although Sumner was unable to return to the Senate until December 1859, the Massachusetts legislature refused to replace him, leaving his empty desk in the Senate as a public reminder of the attack.

Brooks' violence was in retaliation for an invective-laden speech given by Sumner two days earlier in which he fiercely criticized slaveholders, including pro-slavery South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, a relative of Brooks. The event contributed significantly to the country's polarization over the issue of slavery. It is considered symbolic of the "breakdown of reasoned discourse" and willingness to resort to violence that led to the American Civil War.

From Wikipedia: Caning of Charles Sumner (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗

see

Unknown artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

After John L. Magee, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Boston Public Library, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Illustrative photo · After John L. Magee, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

source: The Conversation ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗