What happened between Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner?

In 1856, Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, violently attacked Charles Sumner, a Republican senator from Massachusetts, on the Senate floor. The confrontation was triggered by Sumner's anti-slavery speech, where he insulted Brooks's cousin, Senator Andrew Butler. Brooks beat Sumner with a cane, severely injuring him and leading to a national uproar. The incident underscored the intense sectional tensions over slavery in the United States and highlighted the breakdown of civil discourse in Congress.