Charles Sumner

by David Herbert Donald

Charles Sumner (1811–1874), U.S. Senator from Massachusetts for two decades, was an ardent abolitionist; a founder of the Republican Party; chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1861 to 1871; chief of the Radical Republicans during the Civil War and Reconstruction; Lincoln's friend and, later, Grant's nemesis; as well as an advocate for universal equality, international peace, women's suffrage, and educational and prison reform. This edition combines for the first time Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War and Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man into one monumental biography that brings into brilliant focus the character and impact of one of the most controversial and enduring forces in American history.

Genres: History, Biography

1152 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 1996

About the author

Majoring in history and sociology, Donald earned his bachelor degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned his PhD in 1946 under the eminent, leading Lincoln scholar, James G. Randall at the University of Illinois. Randall as a mentor had a big influence on Donald's life and career, and encouraged his protégé to write his dissertation on Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon. The dissertation eventually became his first book, Lincoln's Herndon, published in 1948. After graduating, he taught at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins and, from 1973, Harvard University. He also taught at Smith College, the University of North Wales, Princeton University, University College London and served as Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University. At Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and Harvard he trained dozens of graduate students including Jean H. Baker, William J. Cooper, Jr., Michael Holt, Irwin Unger, and Ari Hoogenboom.

He received the Pulitzer Prize twice (1961 and 1988), several honorary degrees, and served as president of the Southern Historical Association. Donald also served on the editorial board for the Papers of Abraham Lincoln.

David H. Donald was the Charles Warren Professor of American History (emeritus from 1991) at Harvard University. He wrote over thirty books, including well received biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Wolfe and Charles Sumner. He specialized in the Civil War and Reconstruction periods, and in the history of the South.

Reviews

[Colleen Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many biographies but this is perhaps the most thorough. Only the trilogy on TR by Edmond Morris would be comparable. It is actually two volumes that have been combined. Donald comes as close to being completely objective as any historian that I have ever read.

Sumner was a man with a giant intellect, a giant ego, and a giant heart toward the enslaved and later those released from their enslavement. He was a man who believed utterly in his convictions and could not countenance anyone who opposed him. He gave long rousing speeches full of passion and made many friends over the course of his lifetime but he also made plenty of enemies and it wasn't uncommon for people to be on one list and then on the other. In addition to his interest in the rights of black men, he was considered the most knowledgeable American on foreign affairs leading to as many battles on that front as on the first one. When Johnson came to power after the assassination, Sumner was amongst the first to see that far from making sure that African Americans were accorded their rights, he was actually looking after the Confederates and Sumner was one of the leaders in the Senate to oppose him. After Grant was elected, that relationship quickly deteriorated as well. Being so dedicated, he made many enemies.

Considered a zealot, he was also seen as incorruptible by anyone whoever knew him and counted amongst his friends, Longfellow, Frederic Douglass, Julia Ward Howe, countless diplomats and Ralph Waldo Emerson who said of him that he never knew so white a soul.

Very well-written, this volume could be enjoyed by those serious about history as well as a more general audience. The only aspect of the book that I found wanting was an explanation for Sumners devotion to civil rights. Sumner himself never spoke of his father as there was apparently no love lost between them but he was close to his mother and brother. If there was a defining experience in his life that explained it, it wasn't discussed by Donald. In any case, although some people might find the over 1100 pages a lot to read, the knowledge contained within them makes the read very worthwhile.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Sumner (1811-1874) was a true product of a Brahmin style education and upbringing in Boston
which styles itself the Hub of the universe. From the time of his graduation from Harvard Law he
was an uncompromising foe of slavery. He was also an orator, one of the best that ever served in the
US. Senate.

Which he got to in 1851 succeeding none other than Daniel Webster who was now Secretary of State
in the Fillmore administration. Webster had lost considerable support in Massachusetts because of
his support of the Compromise of 1850. Sumner would brook no compromise with the southern
slave interests.

The man that was chosen by the Massachusetts legislature was one well rounded person. He had
traveled extensively in Europe and made the acquaintance of just about everybody worth knowing
in British and French politics. That stood him in good stead in the future. That and the fact he
knew all worth knowing in Boston society. His best friend was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

A well publicized speech denouncing the Kansas-Nebraska Act which opened western territories to
slavery which was rife with sexual imagery earned Sumner a caning right on the Senate floor from
Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina. The beating that he got did permanent neurological damage and what we now might call post traumatic stress. Sumner rarely saw the
Senate floor until the Civil War started.

During the war Sumner was a critic of Lincoln war policies from his seat which now included chair
of the Foreign Relations Committee. He practiced back channel diplomacy like no other before or
since given his knowledge of the main movers and shakers in Europe. Three presidents had to
accept that fact, Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant.

Johnson had enough problems just staying in office. He broke with most of the Republican party
over southern reconstruction. Sumner was a bitter foe of his. But Secretary of State William H.
Seward managed a working relationship with Sumner the result of which was the occupation of
Midway Island and the purchase of Alaska from Russia.

Seward and Sumner were old Senate colleagues and that certainly helped things. So was Hamilton
Fish, Secretary of State for the Grant administration. Sumner and Fish negotiated over everything
but Sumner spoiled a big prize in that we almost purchased the Dominican Republic from it's own
government. That and the fact that a lot of newer Republican post Civil War Senators didn't
quite view Sumner with any awe.

And he was a colossally arrogant man. A brief marriage in the 1860s led to a messy divorce and
rumors of impotence.

It was a bitter pill to swallow when he was stripped of his committee chairmanship. Just short of
his term ending in any event Sumner died in 1874. His party and the people of Massachusetts
left him behind some years earlier.

Yet his was a career of some considerable achievement. This is a combined version of David Herbert Donald's two volume separate biographies on Sumner. Your interest is maintained
throughout the book.

[Jim Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of an influential force in American politics and policy in the mid-19th Century.