Recent U.S. Senate Dust-up Prompts Interview with Boston.com/Boston Globe Reporter

The recent U.S Senate dust-up between Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin and Teamster President Sean O’Brien prompted Boston Globe/Boston.com reporter Molly Farrar to reach out and ask me if we could draw any comparisons with the caning of Charles Sumner in May 1856. “No,” I replied, despite some in the media who attempted to do so. The recent skirmish (barely an event) was over quickly, involved words only, and I think will be little remembered. The caning of Charles Sumner, on the other hand, was one of the most shocking and provocative events in American history. It transformed the whole debate over slavery from an intellectual, religious, moral discussion to a visceral one, helped elect Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860, and put North and South on an inexorable road to Civil War. Check out the interview here