Southern conservatives would threaten a duel to any abolitionist whenever they brought up ending slavery. They even threatened former President John Quincy Adams when he went from President to House Representative. They straight up told him if he wasn’t a former President, he’d be dead. Again, this was other representatives saying that.
Employing years of well-honed experience in parliamentary procedure, Adams masterfully manipulated House proceedings in order to gain opportunities to denounce the gag rule. Because the resolutions were not standing House rules and had to be renewed each session, he often found ways to read anti-slavery petitions before the resolutions could be reinstated. His audacious behavior earned him many enemies. In 1837, Adams began receiving death threats, and by 1839 he was receiving roughly twelve per month.
Then, progressives got a backbone. The argument they used was that southern obstructionism was diluting the voice of the north. Northern got livid and told their delegates to fight once it was framed properly.
The north started having members who stood up to conservatives. When the south threatened duels, northerners rose up and pushed back. Southern suddenly became cry babies. If someone from the north stood up, southerners would surround their their desk and berate them as they spoke.
Much of the congressional record was wiped clean of all this, but news reports weren’t.
Historian Joanne Freeman has an excellent book, The Field of Blood. It lays out everything that led up to the civil war. It’s an amazing book and she’s an awesome narrator if you get the audiobook. She used to be on the history channel a lot when they did actual history.
She is known for her work on Alexander Hamilton and I’m sure Manuel Lin Miranda had to read her work at some point based on how deeply he dove into the role.
thesilentchief on October 27th, 2020 at 02:52 UTC »
Lead the charge, AOC. We're relying on you and a small handful of others not only to stand up to the GOP, but also be the spine of the DNC.
GothamInGray on October 27th, 2020 at 02:54 UTC »
She's right. She almost always is. The Dem Old Guard just lets the Republican party get away with everything without even the slightest pushback.
star_nerdy on October 27th, 2020 at 03:58 UTC »
Conservatives pulled the same shit in the 1830s.
Southern conservatives would threaten a duel to any abolitionist whenever they brought up ending slavery. They even threatened former President John Quincy Adams when he went from President to House Representative. They straight up told him if he wasn’t a former President, he’d be dead. Again, this was other representatives saying that.
https://uschs.org/explore/historical-articles/john-quincy-adams-congressional-career/
Then, progressives got a backbone. The argument they used was that southern obstructionism was diluting the voice of the north. Northern got livid and told their delegates to fight once it was framed properly.
The north started having members who stood up to conservatives. When the south threatened duels, northerners rose up and pushed back. Southern suddenly became cry babies. If someone from the north stood up, southerners would surround their their desk and berate them as they spoke.
Much of the congressional record was wiped clean of all this, but news reports weren’t.
Historian Joanne Freeman has an excellent book, The Field of Blood. It lays out everything that led up to the civil war. It’s an amazing book and she’s an awesome narrator if you get the audiobook. She used to be on the history channel a lot when they did actual history.
She is known for her work on Alexander Hamilton and I’m sure Manuel Lin Miranda had to read her work at some point based on how deeply he dove into the role.