Charles Sumner was beaten senseless on the Senate floor in 1856 after having given a famous anti-slavery speech, ‘The Crime Against Kansas’. Preston Brooks admitted he attacked him from behind and beat him with a cane while he was signing congressional documents. It was two years before Charles Sumner could return to the Senate. In reality, it was the end of Sumner’s career as a politician because of the physical and psychological damage that had been done.
Fortunately, Preston Brooks was found guilty of the crime and fined $300. He continued to work in the congress and was a hero wherever he went in the South.
It taught the South one great lesson. You can get away with (almost) murder and walk away (almost) scot-free. You then can be emboldened to start a civil war. Why not? The penalty for losing can’t be much more than, say, $1000.
It’s a lesson for us. The attack on the capital was just that . . an attack on the center of our democracy.
We can’t embolden them with another ‘scot-free’ gesture!