Charles Sumner Autograph

Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811 – March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American advocate for the abolition of slavery. He chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1861 to 1871, until he lost the position following a dispute with President Ulysses S. Grant over the attempted annexation of Santo Domingo. After breaking with Grant, he joined the Liberal Republican Party, spending his final two years in the Senate alienated from his party. Sumner had a controversial and divisive legacy for many years after his death, but in recent decades, his historical reputation has improved in recognition of his early support for racial equality. More about Charles Sumner

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Sumner began his political activism as a member of various anti-slavery groups, leading to his election to the U.S. Senate in 1851 as a member of the Free Soil Party; he soon became a founding member of the Republican Party. In the Senate, he devoted his efforts to opposing the "Slave Power," which in 1856 culminated in a vicious beating, almost to the point of death, by Representative Preston Brooks on the Senate floor. Sumner's severe injuries and extended absence from the Senate made him a symbol of the anti-slavery cause. Though he did not return to the Senate until 1859, Massachusetts reelected him in 1857, leaving his empty desk as a reminder of the incident, which polarized the nation as the Civil War approached.

During the war, Sumner led the Radical Republican faction, which was critical of President Abraham Lincoln for being too moderate toward the South. As chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sumner worked to ensure that the United Kingdom and France did not intervene on behalf of the Confederate States. After the Union won the war and Lincoln was assassinated, Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens led congressional efforts to grant equal civil and voting rights to freedmen and to block ex-Confederates from power so they would not reverse the gains derived from the Union's victory in the war. President Andrew Johnson's persistent opposition to these efforts played a role in his impeachment in 1868. Read even more about Charles Sumner at Wikipedia

Traded items with a signature of Charles Sumner

The most expensive item with a signature of Charles Sumner (CHARLES SUMNER AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED ALS/Handwritten/Civil War Slavery RARE) was sold in December 2015 for $788.89 while the cheapest item (19th Century California Congressman Charles Sumner Signed Autograph Slip) found a new owner for $0.99 in October 2015. The month with the most items sold (3) was February 2020 with an average selling price of $41.01 for an autographed item of Charles Sumner. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in April 2017 with $462.97 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $5.50 was April 2009. In average, an autographed item from Charles Sumner is worth $58.50.

Most recently, these items with a signature of Charles Sumner were sold on eBay - click here for more items.

Picture Item Title Price Store
thumbnailCharles Sumner & Preston Brooks Signed Cut Signatures The Crime Against Kansas$289.95logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner (1811-1874) Civil War Civil Rights Senator Signature & Engraving$118.00logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner - U.S. Senator from Massachusetts - Authentic Autograph $28.98logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner Manuscript Letter Signed - Sent From The Senate Chamber$150.00logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner Signature - Massachusetts Senator, Slight Tearing$27.00logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner signed free frank!$40.00logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner, anti-slavery senator, Massachusetts, signed free frank envelope$26.00logo
thumbnailCHARLES SUMNER, signed autograph page, French Fair$36.00logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner, U.S. Senator, Clipped Signature$9.99logo
thumbnailCharles Sumner/ Massachusettes Senator/Abolitionist Free Frank Signed$41.01logo
thumbnailCIVIL WAR MASSACHUSETTS ABOLITIONIST SENATOR CHARLES SUMNER AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURE$28.00logo
thumbnailFree Frank of Charles Sumner U.S. Senator In-Person Autograph - DEAL (#V 48A )$78.75logo
thumbnailLord Morpeth 1843 Autograph Letter Signed - To Charles Sumner - Red Wax Seal$39.00logo
thumbnailSenator Charles Sumner Signed 1865 Handwritten Letter 5.5x7.5 Civil War$147.50logo
thumbnailSuper Cool Charles Sumner Signed Autograph Letter + CDV$150.00logo