Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874

Charles Sumner (Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874) was an important nineteenth-century American political figure and orator whose writings cover political, legal, diplomatic, and social issues. This collection includes 23 of his works, most notably several volumes of Charles Sumner: His Complete Works, as well as a separate study, The Duel Between France and Germany. These texts are largely compiled from speeches, political essays, and letters, characterized by a forceful, closely argued style that bears the distinct polemical mark of their era. Public information is limited, and details of his life and intellectual formation remain unclear; yet the surviving texts show him building arguments on dense historical and legal evidence, in a dignified and persuasive language. His writings not only record the political and diplomatic currents of Europe and America at the time but also offer valuable primary material for the study of nineteenth-century American public oratory and political writing, retaining reference value today.