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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-03-24 22:34:29+00:00.

Original Title: TIL in 1856, after Charles Sumner gave a blistering anti-slavery speech in the U.S. Senate, Congressman Preston Brooks violently attacked him with a cane on the Senate floor nearly killing him. Congressman Laurence Keitt stood by with a pistol and threatened anyone who tried to intervene.