Former President of the United States John Quincy Adams is seen while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. Lithograph from a daguerreotype, c.1843.
Former President of the United States John Quincy Adams is seen while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. Lithograph from a daguerreotype, c.1843.
John P. Hale’s strong anti-abolitionist stance of the 1830s gave way, over time, to a softening of the heart that led him to become an ardent anti-slavery campaigner.
Historian Richard H. Sewell, author of “John P. Hale and the Politics of Abolition,” published in 1965, wrote “Just when and why Hale joined the crusade against slavery is unknown.” Sewell speculated, however, that Hale was likely influenced by his interactions with Rev. John Parkman who was the minister of Dover’s First Unitarian Society from 1840 to 1849. Sewell wrote, “At first Hale sharply disagreed with Parkman’s abolitionist views. Yet from the beginning he defended the new minister’s right to air his beliefs freely.” The two men became friends, and “By pointing up the un-Christian character of slavery in weekday chats as well as in Sunday sermons, Parkman helped gradually to convince Hale of the need for some form of anti-slavery action.”
Despite this gradual and sincere change in his perspective on slavery, Hale remained a member of the Democratic Party despite its anti-abolitionist policies, because he supported the party’s positions on other issues. In 1842 he was elected as one of four New Hampshire members of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 28th Congress (1843-1845). One of the contentious matters agitating the House was the “gag rule,” which denied the public’s right of petition on the subject of slavery. For decades, the House had been accustomed to receiving petitions, statements of facts, resolutions, and propositions from the public relating to slavery. With the emergence of organized abolitionist groups in the northern states in the 1830s, the volume of these communications increased dramatically.
Influenced by congressmen from the slave states, and those from free states who were anti-abolitionist, in May 1836 the House passed what was known as the “gag rule.” This specified that any petition or other message from the public regarding the issue of slavery would “be laid upon the table and that no further action be taken thereon.” Therefore, these documents would be received, and then ignored. The rule was re-approved at each session afterward until 1840 when it became a standing rule.
Hale had come into Congress in 1843 knowing that he would support abolishing the “gag rule,” even though this would be against his party’s wishes. Hale believe the measure was unconstitutional because it abridged the public’s right to petition their elected officials, and he also saw that it unfairly benefited the slaveholders. The campaign to rescind the rule was led by John Quincy Adams, the former president, senator, and secretary of state — who was then a congressman representing Massachusetts.
Adams had long been a foe of the “gag rule.” He attempted to have it abolished in March 1843, but failed. He finally succeeded on Dec. 3, 1844, when the vote to approve his resolution passed 108-80, with Hale’s continuing endorsement. A correspondent for the Middlebury Register in Vermont reported on this achievement: “The sage of Quincy (as Adams was known) has won a proud triumph for the cause of human rights.”
This was Hale’s first move in opposition to the slavery forces. The reaction from the public and the press in New Hampshire was mixed, and there was the expected disapproval expressed by the state’s Democratic Party leadership.
Another challenge, related to the issue of slavery, was at the forefront of deliberations in Congress in 1844. The Republic of Texas had declared its independence from Mexico in March 1836 and later that year had applied for annexation to the United States. This request had been rejected due to fear of a war with Mexico. In 1844, President John Tyler negotiated a treaty with the Republic of Texas that would have finally led to annexation, but he failed to secure the votes needed in the U.S. Senate for its ratification. The Tyler administration then developed a plan to have the treaty ratified through a joint resolution of both houses of Congress in early 1845.
Because slavery was permitted in Texas, Hale refused to support its annexation. His view on Texas’s admission to the Union was in conflict with the national Democratic Party’s platform and with the interests of the party in New Hampshire.
Next week: The fallout from Hale’s disapproval of the Texas annexation plan results in the “Hale Storm of 1845.”
