Charles Sumner - Boston, MA - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

Charles Sumner was born in Boston, MA on January 6, 1811. He attended Boston Latin School, graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. His oratory skills enabled him to become a successful politician. He was a staunch abolitionist, vehemently opposing the Futugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1851 he was chosen to be senator from Massachusetts, succeding Daniel Webster.

In the Senate, Charles Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces as the leader of the Radical Republicans. He advocated the destruction of the Confederacy and freedom for all slaves. In 1856, he was nearly killed on the floor of the senate by South Carolina Congressman, Preston Brooks because of his anti-slavery speech "The Crime against Kansas". As a Radical Republican he criticized President Abraham Lincoln for being too moderate on the South. Nonetheles, he worked closely with Lincoln to keep the British and the French from intervening on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

During Reconstruction, 1865–1871, Sumner fought for equal civil rights for the freed slaves. He joined House leader Thaddeus Stevens to oppose Andrew Johnson's reconstruction plans as being too moderate. He died in office of a heart attack on March 11, 1874.

An 11' by 3' by 3' bronze statue of Charles Sumner stands on an 8' high by 7.5' square granite base in the Boston Public Gardens. Sumner standing with his right doot forward. He is wearing a knee length, double breasted coat and a bow tie while holding a roll of papers, waist high, in his left hand. The sculpture was created by Thomas Ball and cast at F. Barbedienne foundry. It was dedicated on December 23, 1878.

The front of the base is inscribed: