Charles Sumner correspondence, 1835-1874

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Summary

Creators:
Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874
Abstract:
Correspondence by American senator Charles Sumner.
Extent:
1.2 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Charles Sumner Correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Letters from Charles Sumner to Elizabeth Georgiana Leveson-Gower Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, American sculptor and writer William Wetmore Story, and others, concerning the relations of the United States with Great Britain and British opinion of the Civil War; national politics in the years immediately preceding, during and after the war, President Andrew Johnson, travels in England, France, and Italy, and law and literature.

Biographical / historical:

Charles Sumner was an American senator and statesman. Sumner was an abolitionist and two days after giving a speech against the Kansas-Nebraska Act, United States Representative Preston Brooks beat Sumner with a cane in the Senate chamber. As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he was instrumental in maintaining peace between the Union and Great Britain during the American Civil War. Sumner opposed President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies and led the move to impeach the president.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, through the agency of Harry Levinson, December 1956.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff in the 1950s. In December 2024, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Charles Sumner Correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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