The lady from Maine laments and quits; the gentleman from Oklahoma says shoot ‘em, and we revisit the savage beating — on the Senate floor no less — of Sen. Charles Sumner by Rep. Preston Brooks
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author’s program note. There’s a whole lot of lamenting going on in Washington, D.C. It goes like this: once upon a time the Congress of the Great Republic was a genteel place where ladies and gentlemen put on their white gloves and best manners, taking tea while cozily arranging America’s affairs… …