Throughout the period before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, petitions and memorials relating to the slavery question appeared in many records of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. Between 1836 and 1844, the 21st rule of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

(the so-called

gag rule A gag rule is a rule that limits or forbids the raising, consideration, or discussion of a particular topic, often but not always by members of a legislative or decision-making body. A famous example of gag rules is the series of rules concerni ...

) provided that no petition relating to slavery would be entertained in any way; therefore, all such petitions and memorials received while this rule was in effect were

tabled In parliamentary procedure, the verb to table has the opposite meaning in the United States from that of the rest of the world: *In the United States, to "table" usually means to postpone or suspend consideration of a pending motion. Generally, t ...

. The rule, proposed by

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Representative

Henry L. Pinckney Henry Laurens Pinckney (September 24, 1794February 3, 1863) was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina, and the son of Charles Pinckney and Mary Eleanor Laurens. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Pinckney attended private schools. He gr ...

, was passed without any debate. During this period, hundreds of petitions relating to the

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: *Abolitionism, abolition of slavery *Capital punishment#Abolition of capital punishment, Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment *Abolitio ...

of slavery, slavery in the

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, fugitive slave laws and fugitive slaves, the admission of slave states, slavery in the

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n colonization, and repeal of the 21st rule were tabled.

Before the rule was adopted

In the 1830s, the

American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...

wanted to propose to Congress that it make an attempt toward abolishing slavery. As such, abolitionists across the country organized and eventually submitted over 130,000 petitions to the House of Representatives between 1831 and 1844. James Hammond, a representative from South Carolina, first proposed the idea of imposing a gag on all anti-slavery petitions. Future President

James Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy an ...

, at that time a representative from Tennessee, tried to resolve this problem and put it in the hands of a special committee. The committee's chairman, Henry Pinckney, dealt with the matter by refusing to consider any of them, and making anything that involved slavery automatically tabled. In 1836, the 24th Congress adopted the well-known Gag Rule. This rule declared that all petitions regarding slavery must be approved before passed or "be laid on the table and that no further action whatever shall be laid thereon."

Opposition

Many people disagreed with this rule. The Whigs were opposed;

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

led a group of congressmen who wanted to get rid of the rule. Adams declared to everyone that he was not an abolitionist, but thought this rule violated the constitutional right to petition. The Gag Rule was going against the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, which gives everyone freedom of speech and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. Adams wanted to pass an amendment^{To what?} against the Gag Rule. When the Whigs took control of the house, the Underwoods of Kentucky proposed an amendment declaring that the old House rules prevailed, instead of getting rid of them after a certain number of days. This included the 21st rule. Adams was not so fond of the idea and proposed a whole new amendment against the Underwoods to get rid of the 21st Rule. It passed by eight votes, 112–104. People who opposed Adams' ideas tried to kick him out of the House. They tried to take the chairmanship of the Congressional Committee Position from him. The first time Congress attempted to do this, they were unsuccessful. Everyone who opposed him tried again and the same result occurred.

Adams' Plan

Adams kept on questioning Polk, and saying that the petitions sent out to create the Gag Rule could be alleged. When Polk failed to answer, Adams stated that everyone has the freedom of thought and action. Slavery should take a toll on one's patience, but if someone had a desire to question this act, it is covered by the law. In January 1844, Adams and his committee finally eliminated the Gag Rule. The House was not so content with this decision and had a long discussion about it. Many still supported the Gag Rule and wanted the question voted. The vote ended up being 86–116 to bring the rule back. The House was still not satisfied and wanted to hold another poll, to see if the public wanted to reconsider the first vote on getting the Gag Rule back.{{explain, date=September 2019 This proposal also failed, 56–116. At last, on December 3, 1844, Congress finally agreed to rescind the Gag Rule. Adams' campaign had worked.

Sources

*Adams, John Quincy. "John Quincy Adams on the Gag Rule." Digital History, Digital History, 2019, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=376.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
*Miller, William Lee. Arguing about Slavery: the Great Battle in the United States Congress. A.A. Knopf, 1996. 1836 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1844 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Slavery in the United States History of the United States Congress United States federal slavery legislation U.S. Congressional gag rules and their sponsors

Before the rule was adopted

Opposition

Adams' Plan

See also

Sources