Political Quotes

“165 years ago the late 1830s, Congress passed a rule prohibiting the use of the word ``slavery'' in the Chamber of this House, prohibiting debate about the Nation's largest blemish, the Nation's largest embarrassment, the institution of slavery. For some years Members of Congress, because of this House gag rule, could not even debate the issue of slavery in this body. Mr. Speaker, in those days Congressman John Quincy Adams, former President, elected to Congress after he left the White House, was particularly outraged by that gag rule, and he came to the floor of the House, to the Chamber of this House of Representatives, week after week, day after day in many cases, reading letters from his constituents about the issue of slavery. Since he was prohibited from the debating the issue, he served as the megaphone, and he let his constituents speak about slavery.…”