The Karpeles Manuscript Library here in Duluth is one of a several such Karpeles Manuscript Libraries around the country. It is purportedly the world’s largest private collection of original manuscripts and documents, an amazing collection that includes the original Bill of Rights, Darwin's Theory of Evolution, the first printing of the Ten Commandments from the 1455 Gutenberg Bible, the world's first baseball card, and Richard Wagner's Wedding March. It's an impressive collection, assembled by a Duluth high school graduate who went off to make a fortune in California real estate.
The collection I studied yesterday featured items from the French Reign of Terror, the Manson family, Lenin, Stalin, the Trail of Tears and much more. Sadly, the exihibit placed a spotlight on a very small slice of humanity's horrorific treatment of their fellows. Nevertheless, it was enlightening and I hope to share a portion of this in the days ahead.
The purpose of an exhibit like this is so that we can learn from the errors of our forebears. Unfortunately, as we read today's headlines it's apparent we've not learned much.
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One of the kiosks I looked at was about free speech. Or rather, gag orders on free speech in the late 1830s.
PETITION TO CONGRESS FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY
In the mid-1830s there began a massive campaign petitioning our government to abolish or outlaw slavery. Around 1836, Congress had received more than 130,000 anti-slavery petitions from the American people in a single year. The first "gag rule" was passed on May 26, 1836, during the 24th Congress. The House of Representatives passed the Pinckney Resolutions, authored by Henry L. Pinckney of South Carolina. This was the first in a series of "gag rules" aimed at stifling anti-slavery petitions.
The petitioners described slavery as "incompatible with moral justice, Christianity, and the spirit of our general government." The petitioners also pointed out that Congress forbade human trafficking among sailors as part of their anti-piracy laws, so they urged Congress to apply the same morals and outlaw slavery on U.S. soil.
PETITION TO RESCIND CONGRESS'S PRO-SLAVERY GAG RULE
On February 13th, 1837 Congress responded. Frightened by the flood of anti-slavery petitions which were pouring into Congress, the House of Representatives ignored the pleas of the people by passing a new series of gag rules.
These gag rules were used to limit or ban discussion of slavery. In the document on display at Karpeles, the writers couldn't even use the word "slavery." Instead, they refer to it as "a certain subject."
In response to Congress censoring their demands, the people responded with another petition. The second petition (also displayed at Karpeles) demanded that Congress rescind (cancel) their most recent gag rule. In this petition, the abolitionists reminded their state representatives that it is their responsibility to listen to the "expressions of the public mind." They also point out that a republic such as the United States get that and that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits rules which restrict speech.
More gag orders followed. The Patton Resolution was passed in late 1837. This petition recognized the inhumane treatment of enslaved people and claimed that the cruelty of slavery did not align with the ideals and morals of the Constitution.
Building on the Pinckney precedent, these reaffirmed the automatic tabling of slavery-related petitions. Passed by a wider margin (129 to 69), they reflected growing Southern resolve to choke off debate as abolitionist pressure mounted—by 1840, an estimated 415,000 petitions had hit Congress.
Congressional leaders were not warmed by the appeals of their constituents. Instead they responded with. more gag rules. New Mapshire Democrat Charles Atherton pushed through a still harsher gag resolution that banned all discussion of slavery petitions. Naturally the harsher the rules, the more outraged the response from the public.
This resulted in the most infamous of them all, The Twenty-First Rule of 1840. On January 28, 1840, the House made it permanent with the Twenty-First Rule. Unlike earlier resolutions, this was a standing House rule that barred even the reception of anti-slavery petitions—not just their discussion. Former President John Quincy Adams now had to fight to repeal a fixed rule, a tougher slog than blocking renewals. By 1844, shifting politics—boosted by Northern backlash and the Whig surge in 1840—enabled Adams enough clout to muster a 108-80 vote to kill it on December 3 and Adams was able to reintroduce slavery discussions in Congress again.
The eight-year run of gag rules not only deepened national divides, they arguably hastened the road to Civil War. They not only muted Congress, they radicalized the North, turned Adams into an abolitionist icon.
These gag rules were a sustained campaign from 1836 to 1844, driven by Southern fear of abolitionist momentum. Before 1835, House rules gave petitions a fair shake. They were read aloud, printed, and assigned to committees. But when the American Anti-Slavery Society unleashed its petition deluge, pro-slavery forces flipped out.
I believe these events from our history have some real lessons for us today. What do you think?
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