Talk:Old Senate Chamber

A fact from Old Senate Chamber appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 30 April 2007. The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that United States Senator Charles Sumner was nearly beaten to death by Representative Preston Brooks in the Old Senate Chamber of the United States Capitol?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2007/April.

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"Nearly killing" defined

This page has been added to "Did you know?" on the basis of the trivia about a representative "nearly killing" a senator. What, actually, were the extent of the senator's injuries, and what is the basis for saying that he was nearly killed? More clarity and precision on this matter will strengthen the article--even if it turns out the beating wasn't as bad as is currently made out to be! Robert K S 13:45, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Quoth the article on Sumner:

As Sumner began to stand up, Brooks began beating Sumner on the head with a thick gutta-percha cane with a gold head. Sumner was trapped under the heavy desk (which was bolted to the floor), but Brooks continued to bash Sumner until he ripped the desk from the floor. By this time, Sumner was blinded by his own blood, and he staggered up the aisle and collapsed, lapsing into unconsciousness. Brooks continued to beat Sumner until he broke his cane, then quietly left the chamber. Several other senators attempted to help Sumner, but were blocked by Keitt who was holding a pistol and shouting "Let them be!"

Sumner did not attend the Senate for the next three years, while recovering from the attack. In addition to the head trauma, he suffered from nightmares, severe headaches and (what is now understood to be) post-traumatic shock.

Is that close enough for you? --Jfruh (talk) 15:29, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Great. The article could be further improved by adding a ref tag and providing the source you quote above. Robert K S 16:17, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's from Wikipedia's article on Sumner. --Jfruh (talk) 18:44, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not that I'm not frequently guilty of using Wikipedia as a source myself, but ideally articles should have citations that are external to the site. Wikipedia should never be used to reference itself! Cheers, Robert K S 19:36, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Origins and use

Also, I note that the Origins and use section does not mention what the chamber is used for present-day. It would be interesting to include this information. Are any hearings held there, or is it now just for show? Robert K S 16:20, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The French monarchs in the United States Senate

In his great novel "Burr" Gore Vidal yu77777buyvyt(Tomcat Oebele jumped on keys to send his regards) describes the old Senate chamber as "still with it's portraits of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette". This intrigued me... were there portraits of these sponsors of American indenpendance on the wall of the Senate? When were they removed? Do they still exist? Gore Vidal is a very exact and knowledgeable writer. It it is not something that he would have made up like a minor character in the novel.

I was intrigued and checked Wikipedia but it wasn't there, who knows more about it?

Robert Prummel (talk) 13:45, 2 January 2008 (UTC) (Groningen, The Netherlands)[reply]

Use of the Chamber for the Senate's 200th anniversary

On 6 April 1989, the Senate convened for a special celebration of the 200th anniversary of when the Senate began work. This special meeting convened in the old chamber. Eventually they recessed to continue the session in the regular chamber. My point is that it might be good idea to mention this special meeting on the page since it convened in the old chamber. 2600:1700:7DC1:5810:A1A9:49C1:E1A0:A77D (talk) 01:24, 14 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]