Hate Crime on the Senate Floor

Myth:  On May 22, 1856, Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina severely beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts after Sumner delivered a vehement anti-slavery speech, singling out Brooks in the process.  Most historians note this vicious incident as a means to underscore the rising sectarianism in America - sectarianism that would ultimately lead to the onset of the US Civil War.

Fact:  Though it is true that tensions were increasing between North and South, Brooks did not beat Sumner with his cane because he was incensed by Sumner's abolitionist rhetoric.  Earlier in the day, a fellow South Carolinian overheard Sumner calling Brooks a finnynimp - slang at the time that would most closely be related to calling someone gay in today's world.  The unknown South Carolina compatriot later passed a note to Brooks during the afternoon Senate session detailing what Sumner had said.  Since Brooks was known for his machismo - it has been said that Brooks was able to bend four hoop-and-stick sets in under a minute - it is understandable that he took great offense to being called a finnynimp.  And so the beating ensued as Brooks relentlessly hit Sumner with his aged mahogany and bedazzled cane, leaving Sumner incapacitated for nearly three years.  It is true the Civil War was fueled by fiery anti-slavery rhetoric, but gay slurs were an equally notable cause.