dealing with petitions. They should be received, said he, and
referred to a committee; because the right of petition is sacred.
This, he maintained, was the best way to avoid disturbing debate
on the subject of slavery. He quoted his own previous experience;
he had made known his opposition to the purposes of the
petitioners; their memorials were duly referred to a committee
and there they slept the sleep of death. At that time only one
voice had been raised in the House in support of the abolition
petitioners, that of John Dickson of New York, who had delivered
a speech of two hours in length advocating their cause; but not a
voice was raised in reply. Mr. Adams mentioned this incident with
approval. The way to forestall disturbing debate in Congress, he
said, was scrupulously to concede all constitutional rights and
then simply to refrain from speaking on the subject.

This sound advice was not followed. For several months a
considerable part of the time of the House was occupied with the
question of handling abolition petitions. And finally, in May,
1836, the following resolution passed the House: "Resolved, That
all petitions, memorials, resolutions, propositions, or papers
relating in any way or to any extent whatever to the subject of
slavery or the abolition of slavery, shall, without being either
printed or referred, be laid on the table, and that no further
action whatever shall be had thereon." This is commonly known as
the "gag resolution." During four successive years it was
reenacted in one form or another and was not repealed by direct
vote until 1844.

When the name of Mr. Adams was called in the vote upon the
passage of the above resolution, instead of answering in the