James K. Polk, John Quincy Adams and the Gag Rule
James K. Polk has the distinction of being the only President of the United States to have also been Speaker of the House of Representatives. He ran for the office in 1834 when his mentor, Andrew Jackson, was President. Jackson wanted one of his supporters in the post for obvious political reasons, and his fellow Tennessean Polk was someone who saw eye to eye with Old Hickory. In June 1834, Speaker of the House Andrew Stevenson resigned from Congress, and with Jackson's support, Polk ran for Speaker. His opponents were fellow Tennessean John Bell, Richard Henry Wilde of Georgia (a supporter of John C. Calhoun) and Joel Barlow Sutherland of Pennsylvania. After ten ballots, Bell defeated Polk. Bell's election marked the beginning of a growing anti-Jacksonian sector in Tennessee, led by Bell and Senator Hugh Lawson White.
In 1835, Polk challenged Bell in a re-match for the speaker office, and this time he was victorious. In the 1836 presidential election, Vice President Martin Van Buren, Jackson's chosen successor, won the Presidency, defeating a number of Whig candidates who thought that they could split the vote and win the election in the House of Representatives, as John Quincy Adams had done in 1824.
As speaker, Polk worked to promote the policies of Jackson and, after 1836, of Van Buren. Polk appointed committees with Democratic chairs and majorities. The two major issues during Polk's speakership were slavery and, after the Panic of 1837, the economy. On the former issue, Polk was able to keep a lid on the slavery debate within the House by means of something known as the "gag rule".
After losing his bid for re-election as President in 1828, Adams remained out of politics at first. But after just two years away from the game, he decided that he was appalled by many of the Jackson administration's actions. Adams grew bored in retirement and felt that his career was unfinished. He decided to run for, and won a seat in the United States House of Representatives in the 1830 elections. His election went against the generally held belief, shared by his own wife, that former presidents should not run for public office. He was the first president to serve in Congress after his term of office, and one of only two former presidents to do so (Andrew Johnson later served in the Senate). He was elected to nine terms, serving as a Representative for 17 years, from 1831 until his death.
Since about 1831, Northern abolitionists became a significant political force in the north as they protested against the institution of slavery. Petitions of various kinds poured into the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, calling for the abolition or the restriction of the "peculiar institution" of slavery. Most of these were presented in the house by John Quincy Adams, who was a longtime opponent of slavery. Adams used his new role in Congress to became the most prominent national leader opposing slavery. He was also an advocate against any Congressional abridgment of the right of petition.
Adams authored a resolution for calling for the repeal of slavery. In response, the pro-slavery forces in Congress responded with a series of "gag rules" that automatically tabled any and all petitions that called for the repeal of slavery, preventing them from being read or discussed. The House passed the Pinckney Resolutions, authored by Henry L. Pinckney of South Carolina, on May 26, 1836, the third of which was known from the beginning as the "gag rule". It passed with a vote of 117 to 68. The first of these resolutions stated that Congress had no constitutional authority to interfere with slavery in the states and the second that it "ought not" do so in the District of Columbia. The third banned discussion of the issue in Congress.
From the beginning of the gag resolutions, Adams was the central figure in the opposition to the gag rules. He argued that they were a direct violation of the First Amendment right "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances". A majority of Northern Whigs joined Adams in this cause. It turned out that rather than suppress anti-slavery petitions, the gag rules only served to offend Americans from Northern states, and dramatically increased the number of such petitions. The growing offense to the gag rule was a factor in the first Whig majority, in the 27th Congress.
Since the original gag was a resolution, not a standing House Rule, it had to be renewed every session. In January 1837, the Pinckney Resolutions were renewed, more than a month into the session. The pro-gag forces gradually succeeded in shortening the debate and tightening the gag. In December 1837 and December of 1838 Congress passed similar gag resolutions.
In January 1840, the House of Representatives passed the Twenty-first Rule, which greatly changed the nature of the debate. It prohibited even the reception of anti-slavery petitions and was a standing House rule. Before, the pro-slavery forces had to struggle to impose a gag before the anti-slavery forces got the floor. Now men like Adams or Slade were trying to revoke a standing rule. But this move had less support than the original gag resolutions. It passing narrowly by a vote of 114 to 108, with substantial opposition among Northern Democrats and even some Southern Whigs. There was serious question about its constitutionality.
Throughout the gag period, Adams used his vast knowledge of parliamentary procedure and rules in baiting his enemies and finding creative ways to evade the rule. The gag was finally rescinded December 3, 1844, by a vote of 108–80, all the Northern and 4 Southern Whigs voting for repeal, along with 78% of the Northern Democrats. It was John Quincy Adams who had successfully assembled the coalition that approved his resolution to repeal the rule.
Meanwhile, in the Senate in 1836, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina had attempted to introduce a gag rule. The Senate rejected this proposal, but agreed on a method which, while technically not violating the right to petition, would achieve the same effect. If an anti-slavery petition was presented, the Senate would vote not on whether to accept the petition but on whether to consider the question of receiving the petition.
Prior to the end of the gag rule, James K. Polk had completed two terms as speaker, and he announced that he would not seek re-election, choosing instead to run for Governor of Tennessee in 1839. Adams remained in Congress literally until his death in February of 1848. He collapsed on the floor of the House during a debate, and was taken to the Speaker's room, where he died two days later.
In 1835, Polk challenged Bell in a re-match for the speaker office, and this time he was victorious. In the 1836 presidential election, Vice President Martin Van Buren, Jackson's chosen successor, won the Presidency, defeating a number of Whig candidates who thought that they could split the vote and win the election in the House of Representatives, as John Quincy Adams had done in 1824.
As speaker, Polk worked to promote the policies of Jackson and, after 1836, of Van Buren. Polk appointed committees with Democratic chairs and majorities. The two major issues during Polk's speakership were slavery and, after the Panic of 1837, the economy. On the former issue, Polk was able to keep a lid on the slavery debate within the House by means of something known as the "gag rule".
After losing his bid for re-election as President in 1828, Adams remained out of politics at first. But after just two years away from the game, he decided that he was appalled by many of the Jackson administration's actions. Adams grew bored in retirement and felt that his career was unfinished. He decided to run for, and won a seat in the United States House of Representatives in the 1830 elections. His election went against the generally held belief, shared by his own wife, that former presidents should not run for public office. He was the first president to serve in Congress after his term of office, and one of only two former presidents to do so (Andrew Johnson later served in the Senate). He was elected to nine terms, serving as a Representative for 17 years, from 1831 until his death.
Since about 1831, Northern abolitionists became a significant political force in the north as they protested against the institution of slavery. Petitions of various kinds poured into the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, calling for the abolition or the restriction of the "peculiar institution" of slavery. Most of these were presented in the house by John Quincy Adams, who was a longtime opponent of slavery. Adams used his new role in Congress to became the most prominent national leader opposing slavery. He was also an advocate against any Congressional abridgment of the right of petition.
Adams authored a resolution for calling for the repeal of slavery. In response, the pro-slavery forces in Congress responded with a series of "gag rules" that automatically tabled any and all petitions that called for the repeal of slavery, preventing them from being read or discussed. The House passed the Pinckney Resolutions, authored by Henry L. Pinckney of South Carolina, on May 26, 1836, the third of which was known from the beginning as the "gag rule". It passed with a vote of 117 to 68. The first of these resolutions stated that Congress had no constitutional authority to interfere with slavery in the states and the second that it "ought not" do so in the District of Columbia. The third banned discussion of the issue in Congress.
From the beginning of the gag resolutions, Adams was the central figure in the opposition to the gag rules. He argued that they were a direct violation of the First Amendment right "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances". A majority of Northern Whigs joined Adams in this cause. It turned out that rather than suppress anti-slavery petitions, the gag rules only served to offend Americans from Northern states, and dramatically increased the number of such petitions. The growing offense to the gag rule was a factor in the first Whig majority, in the 27th Congress.
Since the original gag was a resolution, not a standing House Rule, it had to be renewed every session. In January 1837, the Pinckney Resolutions were renewed, more than a month into the session. The pro-gag forces gradually succeeded in shortening the debate and tightening the gag. In December 1837 and December of 1838 Congress passed similar gag resolutions.
In January 1840, the House of Representatives passed the Twenty-first Rule, which greatly changed the nature of the debate. It prohibited even the reception of anti-slavery petitions and was a standing House rule. Before, the pro-slavery forces had to struggle to impose a gag before the anti-slavery forces got the floor. Now men like Adams or Slade were trying to revoke a standing rule. But this move had less support than the original gag resolutions. It passing narrowly by a vote of 114 to 108, with substantial opposition among Northern Democrats and even some Southern Whigs. There was serious question about its constitutionality.
Throughout the gag period, Adams used his vast knowledge of parliamentary procedure and rules in baiting his enemies and finding creative ways to evade the rule. The gag was finally rescinded December 3, 1844, by a vote of 108–80, all the Northern and 4 Southern Whigs voting for repeal, along with 78% of the Northern Democrats. It was John Quincy Adams who had successfully assembled the coalition that approved his resolution to repeal the rule.
Meanwhile, in the Senate in 1836, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina had attempted to introduce a gag rule. The Senate rejected this proposal, but agreed on a method which, while technically not violating the right to petition, would achieve the same effect. If an anti-slavery petition was presented, the Senate would vote not on whether to accept the petition but on whether to consider the question of receiving the petition.
Prior to the end of the gag rule, James K. Polk had completed two terms as speaker, and he announced that he would not seek re-election, choosing instead to run for Governor of Tennessee in 1839. Adams remained in Congress literally until his death in February of 1848. He collapsed on the floor of the House during a debate, and was taken to the Speaker's room, where he died two days later.