Stuff You Missed in History Class

Charles Sumner, Revisited (Part 1)

November 24, 2025 — Hosted by Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Fry (iHeartPodcasts)

Episode Overview

This episode marks the beginning of a deep, three-part exploration into the life and legacy of Charles Sumner — most often remembered for being the abolitionist senator who was violently caned on the Senate floor in 1856. Hosts Tracy and Holly revisit and vastly expand on a brief 2009 episode about Sumner, aiming to move beyond his infamous assault and illuminate his upbringing, personal life, friendships, career, and abolitionist work.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Revisiting Old Episodes & Why Charles Sumner (02:47–05:41)

• Tracy explains that early "Stuff You Missed in History Class" episodes were very short and many have disappeared from podcast directories.
• The Sumner topic — originally covered in a 12-minute 2009 episode — "seemed particularly relevant for multiple reasons at various points over the last several years." (04:29, Tracy)
• The hosts discovered quickly that Sumner’s story warranted not just a longer revisit but a whole three-part series.

Charles Sumner’s Early Life and Family Background (05:41–10:57)

• Born January 6, 1811, in Boston, Massachusetts; twin sister Matilda.
• Parents (Charles Pinkney “Pinckney” Sumner and Relief Jacob Sumner) both faced early hardships and were progressive for their time.
• Grew up in Boston’s Beacon Hill North Slope—home to Boston’s largest Black community in the 19th century.
• Pinckney Sumner was an abolitionist who believed abolition was just a starting point for justice.

  "The best thing the abolitionists can do for the people of color is to make their freedom a blessing to them in the states where they are free." (Pinckney Sumner, 08:46, Tracy)

• Charles was bookish and studious ("kind of a nerd"—09:36, Tracy), self-taught Latin to surprise his father, and earned his way into the Boston Latin School.

Harvard, Law School, and Early Legal Career (10:57–17:37)

• Graduated Boston Latin School at 15; attended Harvard thanks to his father’s stable job as sheriff.
• At Harvard Law School (led by Joseph Story, a family friend and Supreme Court Justice), Sumner thrived with the then-new cold calling/Socratic method.
• After law school, Sumner found legal practice unfulfilling; he was more interested in the intellectual aspects of law than in practical or commercial practice.
• Notably, Sumner was socially awkward in court, seen as "an annoying and overly educated pedant." (16:34, Tracy)
• Briefly served as Charles Dickens’s tour guide in Massachusetts (1842).
• First trip to Washington, D.C. left a negative impression:

  "He absolutely hated Washington, D.C., and said that he thought he would never go back." (17:37, Holly)

Ideological Influences and Growing Abolitionism (18:01–19:50)

• Subscribed to William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator, though disagreed with Garrison’s stance that the Constitution was pro-slavery.
• Sumner fiercely defended the U.S. Constitution as an anti-slavery, forward-thinking framework, diverging from Garrison’s view.

  "[Sumner] saw [the Constitution] as an extraordinary and groundbreaking text, a document that had established one of the first nations in the world to be founded with a written work of law." (18:59, Tracy)

• Sumner traveled to Europe (1837–1840), observing what he thought was a less racially prejudiced society, which, hosts note, was not as egalitarian as he assumed. His father died while he was abroad.

Romantic Friendships: Sumner, Longfellow, and Howe (20:20–28:31)

• Reintegrated into Boston life with close-knit friend group "Five of Clubs," including poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and physician Samuel Gridley Howe.
  • Tracy and Holly discuss how 19th-century “romantic friendships” between men were normal at the time but would seem queer by later standards.
• Sumner’s affection for Howe was especially intense:

  “‘He is quite in love with Howe and spends so much time with him that I begin to feel the shooting pains of jealousy.’” (21:40, Holly, quoting George Hillard) “What then will become of me? And it is a dreary world to travel in alone.” (22:13, Tracy, quoting Sumner)

• Both Longfellow and Howe married in 1843, with Sumner often helping facilitate and even chaperone their courtships.
• Sumner grew deeply depressed as his close friends’ marriages changed these relationships:

  “I am alone. Alone, my friends fall away from me.” (24:07, Holly, reading Sumner’s letter) “What shall I do these long summer evenings? And what will become of those sabbaths sacred to friendship and repose?” (24:49, Tracy, reading Sumner’s letter to Longfellow)

• Sumner’s depression following his friends’ marriages was severe and longstanding; he struggled to form romantic connections with women.

Notable Quote — The Queer Lens

“My favorite definition of the word queer comes from the National Museum of Iceland. ‘The term queer refers to sex, gender and sexuality that don't coincide with the traditions and customs of a particular time period.’ Sumner's relationships...fit with this definition, especially Sumner and Howe.” (23:30, Tracy)

Shifting to Social Reform and Abolition (28:31–31:49)

• As Sumner emerged from his grief and depression, he left commercial law for social reform causes:
  • Joined the Peace Society
  • Advocated for prison reform
  • Intensified focus on abolition
• He continued to struggle with forming intimate partnerships; most of his romantic letters with Howe were later destroyed for privacy.

Sumner the Expansionist — and Limits Thereof (31:49–32:55)

• While generally an “expansionist” in the spirit of Manifest Destiny, Sumner opposed expansion by war and the expansion of slavery.
• He was strongly against the annexation of Texas and war with Mexico:

  “He called a possible war with Mexico mean and cowardly...” (32:24, Holly)

The Monumental "True Grandeur of Nations" Speech and Fallout (32:55–39:38)

• In 1845, gave a massive anti-war speech ("True Grandeur of Nations") for Boston’s Independence Day — over 100 pages long!

  • Argued that war is dishonorable and peace is a nation’s true greatness.
  • Offended many Bostonians, particularly veterans:

    “In our age, there can be no peace that is not honorable. There can be no war that is not dishonorable...” (33:39, Holly, reading Sumner) “War is utterly ineffectual to secure or advance the object at which it aims. The misery which it excites contributes to no end, helps to establish no right, and therefore in no respect determines justice between the contending nations.” (34:49, Tracy, reading Sumner)

  • After severe criticism, Sumner offered clarification:

    “Allow me to add that I wish to be understood as restraining my opinions precisely within the limits which I have assigned them in these pages...” (36:17, Holly, reading Sumner)

• The speech marked a turning point in Sumner’s social standing. Formerly fashionable and popular among elites, he became somewhat ostracized for his radical views.

• Shortly afterward, Sumner lost a key mentor, Joseph Story, who died but had praised the speech’s style, if not its substance.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On abolishing slavery and equal treatment:

  “The best thing the abolitionists can do for the people of color is to make their freedom a blessing to them in the states where they are free.”
  — Pinckney Sumner (08:46, Tracy)

• On romantic friendships and longing:

  “He is quite in love with Howe and spends so much time with him that I begin to feel the shooting pains of jealousy.”
  — George Hillard, on Sumner and Howe (21:40, Holly) “What then will become of me? And it is a dreary world to travel in alone.”
  — Charles Sumner (22:13, Tracy)

• On peace vs. war:

  “In our age, there can be no peace that is not honorable. There can be no war that is not dishonorable. The true honor of a nation is to be found only in deeds of justice and in the happiness of its people, all of which are inconsistent with war...”
  — Charles Sumner (33:39, Holly) “War is utterly ineffectual...in no respect determines justice between the contending nations.”
  — Charles Sumner (34:49, Tracy)

• On being out of step with his time (the queer perspective):

  “‘The term queer refers to sex, gender and sexuality that don't coincide with the traditions and customs of a particular time period.’ Sumner's relationships...fit with this definition, especially Sumner and Howe.”
  — 23:30, Tracy

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:47–05:41 — Why revisit Charles Sumner?
• 05:41–10:57 — Sumner’s childhood, family, and integration into the Black community on Beacon Hill
• 10:57–17:37 — Harvard, law school, early career, and dislike of practical law
• 18:01–19:50 — Shaping of Sumner’s abolitionism, influence of Garrison and the Constitution
• 20:20–28:31 — Romantic friendships: Howe, Longfellow, the Five of Clubs, and the impact of their marriages
• 28:31–31:49 — Moving from depression to social activism and reform
• 31:49–32:55 — Sumner’s stance on expansionism and war
• 32:55–39:38 — Independence Day speech: “True Grandeur of Nations,” public backlash, and aftermath

Tone

Conversational, empathetic, sometimes playful (self-effacing “nerd” references), and often poignant when discussing Sumner’s personal relationships. The hosts approach Sumner’s connections with care and an eye toward historical context and present-day perspectives on gender and intimacy.

Closing

The episode wraps as Tracy notes that Sumner’s next major legal work involved an important school segregation case, which will be covered in the next installment.

This episode is an insightful and humanizing look at Charles Sumner before his national notoriety, emphasizing the personal, intellectual, and emotional experiences that shaped his activism and public life.