Table of Contents

Introduction
1. One Minute
2. A Machine That Would Go of Itself?
3. Immediate Aftermath
4. A Long, Winding Road
5. Honor, Idealism, and Inevitability
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index

About the Author

Williamjames Hull Hoffer is an associate professor of history at Seton Hall University and the author of To Enlarge the Machinery of Government: Congressional Debates and the Growth of the American State, 1858-1891, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Reviews

Hoffer, professor of history, recounts preceding events, the attack itself, as well as the aftermath in an excellent work of historical analysis... This will be a valuable addition to Civil War collections. Booklist An extraordinary and valuable study of what these events of history reveal not only about America of the past, but also America of today, The Caning of Charles Sumner is highly recommended especially for college library collections and American Civil War shelves. Midwest Book Review The short length, subject, and writing style of The Caning of Charles Sumner will make this text a staple in survey and upper-level American history classes alike. -- Mary Ellen Pethel Teaching History: A Journal of Methods The Caning of Charles Sumner should appeal to both academics and non-academics, but it is perhaps most useful as a supplemental text in undergraduate American history survey courses. The book likewise would be a welcome addition to reading lists in graduate seminars, especially those on the Old South or the Civil War. -- Tommy C. Brown South Carolina Historical Magazine The Caning of Charles Sumner attempts to place the incident as well as its primary figures within their temporal, cultural, moral, and ethical contexts... In its careful analysis of the evidence and its generally balanced conclusions, the author has succeeded. -- Martin Hardeman H-Law, H-Net Reviews His smooth style will allow students to engage with the material. -- Christopher J. Olsen Journal of Southern History