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• http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Gag_Rule.htm
• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_congress/Images/page_10/32b.html
• Miller, William Lee. Arguing about Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress. New York: Vintage, 1998.

It was the early nineteenth century, and the abolitionist movement, while still small and fragmented, was gaining steam. Many debated whether Congress had the power to outlaw slavery in the states. No one, however, could argue that Congress could not outlaw slavery in the Congress-controlled District of Columbia. Abolitionists seized this opportunity to demand that Congress act. Starting in 1833 with the founding of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Congress received thousands of petitions from citizens asking for an end to slavery in Washington, D.C.

Southern Congressmen were adamantly opposed to the abolition of slavery, and many from northern states were more concerned with not making waves than with abolition. Both houses of Congress devised ways to deal with the flood of petitions. In the Senate, John C. Calhoun proposed that the Senate accept no slavery petitions. He was overruled, however, because a majority of senators believed that such a policy would paint anti-slavery forces as noble champions of liberty fighting to be heard by a despotic government. The House of Representatives, however, voted to automatically table—or postpone without hearing—any petitions pertaining to slavery. The “Gag Rule” read: "All petitions, memorials, resolutions, or papers relating in any way or to any extent whatsoever to the subject of slavery or the abolition of slavery, shall, without being either printed or referred, be laid upon the table; and that no further action whatever shall be had thereon.”

John Quincy Adams, who was then an ex-president in his mid-seventies serving as a Congressman, led a small group of Representatives in the fight against the Gag Rule. He said, “I hold the resolution to be a direct violation of the constitution of the United States, the rules of this house, and the rights of my constituents.” Adams said that whatever one’s position on slavery, the Gag Rule was a violation of the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of petition: “[T]he stake in the question is your right to petition, your freedom of thought and of action, and the freedom in Congress of your Representative.” The Gag Rule had to be renewed each session, and Adams consistently fought against it. During the nine years that he gag rule was in effect, he was accused of treason and received death threats.

The Gag Rule did not stop petitions from coming in. In fact, it may have encouraged them. In the two years after the Gag Rule was first imposed, over 130,000 petitions were sent to—and tabled by—the House. Ironically for those who wanted to squelch debate about slavery, the gag-rule may have actually helped the abolitionist movement gain strength. One argument often used by abolitionists was that a government that denied liberty to some would ultimately violate the rights of all. When those formerly neutral about slavery saw the government limiting the First Amendment right of citizens as a way of placating pro-slavery states, they began to see glimmers of truth in that prediction.

The Gag Rule was repealed in 1844.

Questions

1. What was the “Gag Rule” of 1836?
   
2. Why did John Quincy Adams object to the Gag Rule?
   
3. How do you think the Gag Rule may have actually helped anti-slavery movement?
   
4. Is petitioning the government more or less common in the Twenty-first century than it was in the Nineteenth? Explain.
   
5. Why is the right to petition so important in a democracy?

Answers

1. The Gag Rule was the policy of the House of Representatives from 1836-1844 to immediately table (set aside and not discuss) all petitions pertaining to the issue of slavery.
   
2. Adams opposed the Gag Rule because it was an abridgement of all citizens’ First Amendment right to petition the government.
   
3. The Gag Rule energized the petitioners themselves, as well as swaying public opinion. Instead of stopping their flow of petitions, abolitionists stepped up the pace and inundated Congress with 130,000 petitions in just two years. The Gag Rule was also a bad public relations move for the House of Representatives. People who had been neutral to slavery began to identify with the abolitionists when they saw Congress limiting their rights. Suddenly, predictions that a government that abridges the rights of some will eventually abridge the rights of all began to materialize.
   
4. Answers will vary. Some students will say that petitioning is not as common, or that other forms of communication with government have replaced it such as phone calls or email. Others may say that emails and “electronic petitions” are technological advances that have actually made petitioning even more common.
   
5. Students should recognize that in a democracy, leaders are accountable to the people. Petitioning government is a means for all citizens to communicate with government officials and express their views on policies. While making sure that government protects the rights of all, leaders in a democracy should listen to what their constituents have to say.