What incident highlighted the violent tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Congress?

The Caning of Charles Sumner is the incident that best highlights the violent tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Congress. This event occurred in May 1856, when Senator Charles Sumner, an outspoken abolitionist from Massachusetts, delivered a fiery speech criticizing slavery and specifically targeting Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina.

In response, Butler's cousin, Representative Preston Brooks, attacked Sumner on the Senate floor with a cane, severely injuring him. This violent act was emblematic of the rising animosity and polarization surrounding the issue of slavery during this period. It underscored how deep-seated feelings about slavery transcended mere political discourse and escalated into physical violence, indicative of the broader societal conflicts leading up to the Civil War. The incident shocked many in the North, who viewed Brooks' actions as barbaric, while many in the South celebrated him as a hero for defending Southern honor.

Other options, while significant in the history of the period, do not illustrate the same level of physical violence between factions. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were a series of political debates on slavery but did not involve violence. The Gadsden Purchase and the Compromise of 1850 involved negotiations over land and compromises regarding slavery but