Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 06 (of 20)

In this compelling collection, listeners hear the voice of one of nineteenth‑century America’s most outspoken senators as he battles the spread of slavery and champions the cause of a free Kansas. The volume gathers a series of letters, public appeals, and impassioned speeches from the turbulent years of the late 1850s through the early 1860s, revealing Sumner’s relentless effort to rally Republican support across New England and beyond. His words capture the urgency of a nation on the brink, from pleas to fellow politicians to fiery addresses before crowds in Boston, New York, and other towns.

Beyond the political rallying cries, Sumner’s correspondence reveals a personal side—his hopes for health, his reflections on travel abroad, and his admiration for scientific progress such as the telegraph. Listeners also encounter his measured critiques of the Senate’s own conduct and his steadfast defense of civil liberties for African Americans. Together, these documents provide a vivid snapshot of a reformer whose moral conviction shaped the debate over slavery and laid groundwork for the nation’s eventual transformation.