"Sumner also clashed with Grant -- this time successfully -- over Grant's plan to annex the Dominican Republic. Grant saw the annexation as a way to solve two problems. The all-black nation would provide a haven where freed slaves could live in peace -- without being harassed by angry Southern whites. And the Dominican Republic not only contained valuable natural resources, but was a market for American goods as well.
Sumner vigorously opposed Grant's annexation plan. He felt that African Americans should be protected from Southern wrath instead of being forced to move away. In a scathing Senate speech, Sumner also pointed out that annexing the Dominican Republic would dissolve one of only two black-led nations in the Caribbean. It was, he said, a matter of a large, powerful nation picking on a weak defenseless one."
So this was the same Charles Sumner who was beaten (with a cane!) within an inch of his life ON THE FLOOR OF THE US SENATE by a Southerner who opposed his abolitionist views. It was one of the major events that led to the Civil War - or so I teach my 7th graders. I'll have to add this little tidbit - and the fact that his name is spelled incorrectly everywhere. Unreal!
ReplyDeleteHa! I know! He was pretty amazing from what I have been reading about him. Raul definitely learned about him in school here, but yes, it is unreal its spelled wrong...
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