The Sumner-Brooks Affair occurs, in which cane-wielding Representative Preston Brooks attacks abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner on the Senate floor.
The fight is provoked by conversation and derogatory remarks made two days earlier during the Senate debate on the admission of Kansas. Following the beating, Brooks is arrested and fined $500; he subsequently resigns (although he will be re-elected). Sumner suffers severe injuries, taking three years to recover from the beating.