Sectional Crisis In The 19th Century

In the 19th century, the Senate was a focal point of the looming sectional crisis in the United States. In the Senate, where the Constitution established an equality of states, there was a delicate balance between North and South, slave and free states. Senators skillfully crafted legislation designed to resolve sectional conflicts and avoid secession. Through reasoned discourse, the Senate was able to pass key policies that helped the country prosper despite these rising tensions. This period between 1820 and 1850 is known as the Senate’s Golden Age. The beginning of the Golden Age of the Senate is most notably marked by the passage of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The bill attempted to admit Missouri to the Union, for the second time. The main area of contention was the permission of slavery in the state. This caused rampant …show more content…
Minutes after legislative session ended for the day, he continued to sit and sign envelopes containing the printed speech. Representative Brooks accompanied by Congressmen Laurence Keitt and Henry Edmundson waited outside the chamber for it to empty. In Brooks’ hand was a gutta-percha cane with a gold head. He suffered from a limp, the scars of an earlier duel. Brooks confronted Sumner as he sat writing at his desk in the almost empty Senate chamber. "Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech twice over carefully. It is a libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine.” As Sumner was about to stand, Brooks struck him with his cane. Sumner attempted to cover himself with his arms. Brooks began beating him as hard and as fast as he could. Sumner tried to get away, but was blinded from the blood streaming down his face. Brooks followed him and continued beating him with his cane, which broke as he did so. “I gave him about 30 first rate striped. Towards the last he bellowed like a calf. I wore my cane out completely but saved the head which is gold,” Brooks