1 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: I'm Bob Crawford. This is founding son John Quincy's America. 2 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,079 Speaker 1: In the early eighteen hundreds, the seeds of manifest destiny 3 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: began to take root. American settlers spread west at a 4 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: rapid pace. By the eighteen twenties, many white Southerners swooped 5 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: into northern Mexico, bringing the people they enslaved with them, 6 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: creating a plantation state similar to those in the American South. 7 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: In eighteen twenty nine, Mexico pushed back, banning slavery within 8 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: its borders its territories likely to follow. The move sent 9 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: outrage across the country's northern borderlands. Resentment built among white settlers, 10 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: and violent skirmishes broke out between them and the Mexican government. 11 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: By the fall of eighteen thirty five, and all out 12 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 1: war had begun against the Mexican Army. Texas forces were outnumbered, undisciplined, 13 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: and scattered, but the Texans knew the territory. They fortified 14 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: an old mission at a crucial crossroads and waited to 15 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: ambush the Mexican Army. Unbeknownst to the one hundred and 16 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: fifty or so Texans in the mission, including the soldiers' families, 17 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: the Mexican army had orders to destroy the rebellion once 18 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: and for all. The Mexican army surrounded the mission. When 19 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: one of the leaders of the Texans, Jim Bowie, looked 20 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: over the walls, he saw a sea of Mexican soldiers 21 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: nearly two thousand against fewer than two hundred Texans. When 22 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: the Texans refused to surrender, Mexican General Antonio Lopez de 23 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: Santa Anna ordered a red flag to be flown from 24 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: a nearby church, assigned to those hold up in the mission. 25 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: No quarter would be given. The Battle of the Alamo 26 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: had begun. Days into the siege of the Alamo, reinforcements 27 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: still hadn't arrived. Booye's co commander, William B. Travis, penned 28 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: a letter to his countrymen in all the world. From 29 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: within the Alamo walls. 30 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 2: Fellow citizens and compatriots, I'm besieged by a thousand and 31 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 2: more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained 32 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 2: a continual bombardment and cannonade for twenty four hours and 33 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 2: have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a 34 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 2: surrender discretion, otherwise the garrison ought to be put to 35 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 2: the sword if the fort is taken, I have answered 36 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 2: the demand with the cannon shot, and our flag still 37 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 2: waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrendt all retreat. 38 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 2: I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible, 39 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 2: and die like a soldier who never forgets what is 40 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 2: due to his own honor and that of his country. 41 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: Victory or death. 42 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 2: William Barrett Travis, Lieutenant colonel COMMANDWNT. 43 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: Just before the break of dawn on the thirteenth day 44 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: of fighting, the Mexican Army stormed the mission, sparing only women, children, 45 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: and enslaved people. In the slaughter. Every fighting man met 46 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: his end with either a bullet or a bayonet. The 47 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: message was clear. The Mexican Army was happy to abide 48 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: by William Travis's terms victory or death, but they weren't 49 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: the only ones to receive a message. Among the dead 50 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: at the Alamo, former Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett outrage and 51 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: calls for vengeance rippled across hundreds and hundreds of miles 52 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: through the plantations of the South northward to Washington, d C. 53 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: And the floor of Congress. US citizens had been killed 54 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: at the hands of the Mexican Army. The bloodbath in 55 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: Texas was a tragedy, quickly becoming a national disaster. Lawmakers 56 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: were bombarded with calls to send US troops to Texas. 57 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: At the heart of this decision was a giant Texas 58 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: sized elephant in the room. What would happen if Northern 59 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: Mexican territory seized its independence were it join the United States? 60 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: And what would happen if a slave state the size 61 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: of Texas joined the Union. The outcome of the rebellion 62 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: had the potential to upset the balance of power in 63 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: the United States for generations Chapter four, Don't Mess with Tech. 64 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: When news of the massacre in Texas reached the US capital, 65 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: John Quincy Adams took to the House floor. He spoke 66 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: out against the US getting involved in a war with Mexico. 67 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: But before he or any other lawmaker could even decide 68 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: whether to send troops to Texas, the direction of the 69 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:39,239 Speaker 1: war had shifted dramatically. Following the Alamo, the Texas Army, 70 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: a ragtag group of rebels, was on the run, retreating 71 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:48,040 Speaker 1: eastward from San Antonio to the Gulf of Mexico. The 72 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: Mexican Army, close behind, committed to ending the rebellion. The 73 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: former governor of Tennessee and a close friend of Andrew Jackson, 74 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: Sam Houston, led the Texans with their backs against the 75 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican army bearing down on them. 76 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: Houston ordered his men to make a final stand, turn 77 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 1: an attack rather than flee. On April twenty first, eighteen 78 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: thirty six, just weeks after the Battle of the Alamo, 79 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: Texans launched an assault against the Mexican army near modern 80 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: day Houston. Screaming Remember the Alamo, Houston's troops attacked mercilessly, 81 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: catching their enemy off guard. The Mexican army, surprised, scattered. 82 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: The battle lasted just eighteen minutes. At the end, Mexican 83 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: General Santa Ana stood in shackles. In exchange for his freedom, 84 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: he agreed to take his army and leave Texas for good. 85 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: The Alamo had been avenged. The Republic of Texas was 86 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: now an independent nation. They say everything is bigger in Texas. Well. 87 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: That was true in eighteen thirty six as well. With 88 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: Mexico no longer controlling this vast stretch of borderlands along 89 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: the American Southwest, a power vacuum had been created. 90 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 3: There's the sense that if Texas is an annex then 91 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 3: Great Britain is going to step in or some other 92 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 3: European power, and you'll have this big anti slavery borderland 93 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 3: in the Southwest. So slaveholders in their allies really want 94 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 3: to get Texas into the American Union, and then maybe 95 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 3: they want to create several states to boost their political 96 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 3: power on top of that. 97 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: This is Richard N. Newman, Professor of History at Rochester 98 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: Institute of Technology. 99 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 3: So this is a vital issue for Southerners and their allies, 100 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 3: and that makes it an incredibly important issue to the 101 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 3: abolitionist movement and to anti slavery congressmen in the North 102 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 3: like Adams. 103 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 4: Adams came to believe that the annexation of Texas was 104 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 4: being pursued by Southerners in the hopes of upsetting the 105 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 4: balance between slave states and free and so here I 106 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,720 Speaker 4: need to go back a tiny bit in history explain. 107 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: That's John Quincy Adams biographer James Traub. He says, to 108 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: understand why Texas was such a political hot potato, you 109 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: have to go back to the eighteen twenties, when Adams 110 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: was Secretary of State. The Union was expanding westward, adding 111 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: more states all the time. In every new addition to 112 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: the Union had potential to disrupt the balance of power 113 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: between free and slave states. This proved especially challenging when 114 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: Missouri was becoming a state, because it's pretty central. Is 115 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: it a northern state or is it a southern state? 116 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: So Congress came up with a solution. 117 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 4: We will draw a line, an east west line, and 118 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,680 Speaker 4: we will henceforward say that all states north of that 119 00:08:54,800 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 4: line would be free states, and all states below that 120 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 4: line would be slave states. 121 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: It was actually more of a compromise than a solution. 122 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: A line was drawn free states to the north, slave 123 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: states to the south, Missouri being an exception, a slave 124 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: state on the wrong side of the line. Since that 125 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: threw off the balance between free and slave states, a 126 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 1: new free state would have to be admitted. 127 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 4: What we now call the Missouri Compromise, and the compromise 128 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 4: ultimately said that we will allow a slave state, Missouri, 129 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:35,680 Speaker 4: to come in along with the free state. 130 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: Main there was no doubt that Texas would be a 131 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:45,199 Speaker 1: slave state, but Southern politicians had grand machinations. They wanted 132 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,679 Speaker 1: to annex Texas and carve it up into several slave states, 133 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: completely destroying the Missouri Compromise and tilting the balance of 134 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: power in their favor. Congressman John Quincy caught wind of 135 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: the scheme and set out to prevent it. President Andrew 136 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: Jackson also opposed annexation. There was just one problem. His 137 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,079 Speaker 1: term was coming to an end. The front runner to 138 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: replace him was Vice President Martin van Buren, the heir 139 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:18,199 Speaker 1: apparent selected by Jackson himself. As you probably remember from 140 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,559 Speaker 1: previous episodes, van Buren's coalition was made up of Northerners 141 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: and Southerners who rallied behind Jacksonian populism. But the coalition 142 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: was tenuous, and Van Buren knew it. As a Northerner, 143 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: he had to keep Southern politicians happy if he was 144 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: going to win the presidency. One thing that would make 145 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: them very happy, besides annexing Texas would be putting an 146 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: end to the discussion of slavery and Congress for good. 147 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:47,679 Speaker 3: This is really a loyalty youth. You have to prove 148 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 3: to us how far you're willing to go to support 149 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 3: slaveholders in the United States. If you're willing to gag 150 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 3: your own constituents prevent them from speaking about an issue 151 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 3: we deem sensitive, then we're going to be your friends forever. 152 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,199 Speaker 3: If not, we're gonna have to seriously reconsider the coalition. 153 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 3: And that's that's why Van Buren is doing everything he 154 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:12,559 Speaker 3: can to stifle anti slavery petitioners, because this is all 155 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 3: about the coalition he has set. 156 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: Up Vice President. Van Buren, eyeing the presidency for himself, 157 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: had plenty of allies in the Lower Chamber, including Henry 158 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: Lawrence Pinkney of South Carolina, who shared a paternalistic view 159 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: of slavery. He saw it as benign. 160 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 3: As benevolent, as hard as it can be for us 161 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 3: to imagine, as good for enslave people as well as 162 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 3: for white masters slavery producers wealth. It also allows enslaved 163 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,680 Speaker 3: people to gain the Christian Gospel and all these other 164 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 3: things that seem absolutely vile to us. 165 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: Pinkney set up a committee at the start of eighteen 166 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: thirty six to figure out what to do with the 167 00:11:55,679 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: thousands of anti slavery petitions flooding Congress. Hardliners wanted to 168 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 1: dismiss the petition's outright John Quincy a free reign to 169 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:09,960 Speaker 1: read them. When Pinckney's committee finished its work in May, 170 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: he offered a series of resolutions, but it was the 171 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: final one that hit the House floor like a lit 172 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: stick at dynamite. Pinckney proposed that all petitions or other 173 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: correspondence to the House about slavery should quote be laid 174 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 1: upon the table and that no further action whatever shall 175 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: be had thereon. He's basically saying, we're not just going 176 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: to ignore all these anti slavery petitions in Congress. We're 177 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:51,079 Speaker 1: gonna ban even mentioning them. They don't exist. A wave 178 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 1: of anger washed over John Quincy as he sat at 179 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 1: his desk. He jumped to his feet and said, and again, 180 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: I'm paraphrasing something along the lines of silent petitions. Have 181 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: you not read the First Amendment? Every American citizen has 182 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: the right to quote petition the government for a redress 183 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: of grievances. Adams demanded the motion be withdrawn. Pinkney and 184 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:22,680 Speaker 1: his allies refused. Adams turned appealed to House Speaker James K. Polk, 185 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 1: He too refused. 186 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:27,720 Speaker 5: Adams shot back, I am aware that there is a 187 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 5: slaveholder in the chair. 188 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:36,440 Speaker 1: The House devolved into chaos. Southern congressmen shouted at Adams, 189 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: accusing him of violating parliamentary order. Still Adams persistent, exasperated, 190 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: and angry. I imagine him pointing at the Great Seal 191 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: of the United States, yelling quotes from the Constitution as 192 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: others shouted at him, pacing demanding to be heard. Polk 193 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: refused to let Adams speak. Adams froze, turned to the 194 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: speaker and asked, am I gagged or not? You know? 195 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 4: And the answer was he was. 196 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 1: Adams was in shock as the vote to silence petitions proceeded, 197 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: his voice now also silenced. When his name was called, 198 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: he got in one last jab voting nay. 199 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 5: He added, I hold the resolution to be a direct 200 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 5: violation of the Constitution of the United States. 201 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: His objections fell on deaf years. The resolution to ignore 202 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: anti slavery petitions on the House floor passed. It would 203 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: become known as the Gag rule. 204 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 4: The Gag rule was an anti John Quincy Adams rule. 205 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: The discussion even mentioned of slavery was now banned in 206 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: the House of Representatives. Here's the thing I love about 207 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: John Quincy Adams. Though he was an indomitable force and 208 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: nobody could shut him up when he had something to say. 209 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 1: Still ahead, Adams pulls as trademark political jiu jitsu on 210 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: the House floor and single handedly turns the tide on 211 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: the debate over Texas that's coming up after a break. 212 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: John Quincy Adams was gagged in the House, but not 213 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: in the press. His spirited stands against the expansion of 214 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: slavery made national headlines. They also caught the attention of 215 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: someone who wanted to help. 216 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 3: Benjamin Lundy presents himself to John Quincy Adams as this 217 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 3: very sympathetic religious moralist, someone who listens, someone who will 218 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 3: take very strong stands against slavery, but he's willing to 219 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 3: listen to other sides. He'll try to push and nudge 220 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 3: people rather than yell and. 221 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: Scream Newman Again. 222 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 3: What's important about this moment for Benjamin Lundy is, never 223 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 3: has a former president, never has a gifted statesman of 224 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 3: the stature of John Quincy Adams been at the center 225 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 3: of the abolitionist movement in Congress. And that's why he's 226 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 3: going the extra mile to nudge Adams into the anti 227 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 3: slavery cause. And it's doubly important to note that, by 228 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 3: temperament and by politics, Adams doesn't want to be in 229 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 3: that position. 230 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: Lundy begins writing to Adams in awe of his outspoken 231 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: stand against slavery. Adams responds, saying he's not an abolitionist. 232 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: Lundy agrees, You're not an abolitionist. You are a prophet. 233 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 6: The eyes of millions, my dear and honored friend, are 234 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 6: now turned to thee. No mortal ever held a part 235 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 6: of greater usefulness, more enviable distinction, or higher moral responsibility 236 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 6: than is thine at the present moment. 237 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: Adams couldn't help but be flattered. A frendship begins, they 238 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:07,439 Speaker 1: write regularly. 239 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 4: Lundy was a Quaker, and so Lundy spoke, you know thou, 240 00:17:12,239 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 4: and put est at the end of all of his words, 241 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 4: and so forth. He was a very pure person. And 242 00:17:17,639 --> 00:17:22,119 Speaker 4: he and Adams had lengthy correspondences back and forth. And 243 00:17:22,159 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 4: I point out that Adam so got into Lundy's own 244 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,399 Speaker 4: idiom that Adams began writing like a Quaker. He used 245 00:17:28,399 --> 00:17:31,919 Speaker 4: the same kind of old fashioned diction when addressing Lunda. 246 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 1: Lundy had traveled all over Texas. Now he was Adam's 247 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:37,639 Speaker 1: man on the inside. 248 00:17:38,199 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 4: He went to Texas at the time that Texas was 249 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 4: rebelling against Mexico and becoming a republic, and Lundee feared 250 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:53,159 Speaker 4: that Texas would be annexed by the United States, and 251 00:17:53,199 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 4: it was so big, it would be turned into some 252 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 4: huge numbers of states, perhaps as many as fifteen, and 253 00:17:59,879 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 4: they would all be pro slavery, and they'd vote for slavery. 254 00:18:02,719 --> 00:18:07,199 Speaker 1: Adams was warming to the abolitionist theology, but his wife, 255 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:09,279 Speaker 1: Louisa was torn. 256 00:18:09,959 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 7: Part of that was because part of her identity was 257 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 7: being a sother being a Marylander. She was a citizen 258 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,159 Speaker 7: in Maryland before she was a citizen in the US, 259 00:18:20,719 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 7: and her sisters, who are best friends, were slaveholders. 260 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,119 Speaker 1: Louisa Thomas is a writer at The New Yorker and 261 00:18:27,239 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: author of Louisa, The Extraordinary Life of missus Adams. She 262 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 1: says Louisa and John Quincy were losing friends over his 263 00:18:35,479 --> 00:18:40,719 Speaker 1: stance against slavery. Their social ties were fraying. Louisa was 264 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: used to the name calling in sideways glances, but things 265 00:18:44,679 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: kept getting uglier. 266 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 7: She's scared because he's getting death threats, and she saw 267 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,759 Speaker 7: anew of the death threats. She was afraid of the 268 00:18:52,879 --> 00:18:57,559 Speaker 7: violence against him, and you know, not unwisely, and she 269 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 7: wasn't ready to sacrifice him in the fight against slavery. 270 00:19:02,159 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 1: She wrote in her diary that supporting her husband meant 271 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: losing the love, the friendship, and the society of my 272 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:15,479 Speaker 1: own nearest and dearest connections. Attacks against prominent abolitionist leaders 273 00:19:15,879 --> 00:19:20,200 Speaker 1: like Theodore Weld were on the rise. People regularly threw 274 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,519 Speaker 1: eggs and rocks at him during his speeches, and things 275 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: got really ugly when an angry mob murdered an abolitionist 276 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: publisher in the fall of eighteen thirty seven. But then 277 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,919 Speaker 1: a bright spot appeared. In the spring of eighteen thirty eight, 278 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,799 Speaker 1: construction finished on the crown jewel of the movement, a 279 00:19:40,879 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: grand venue in center City Philadelphia, christened Pennsylvania Hall. It 280 00:19:46,239 --> 00:19:49,199 Speaker 1: was like the Capitol building for the abolitionist movement. 281 00:19:49,959 --> 00:19:53,439 Speaker 3: It's a safe space for abolitionists. They've spent a lot 282 00:19:53,439 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 3: of time and money trying to build it and what 283 00:19:55,479 --> 00:19:58,559 Speaker 3: is dedicated In May of eighteen thirty eight. People feel 284 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,119 Speaker 3: like it's going to be this great symbol of freedom 285 00:20:01,159 --> 00:20:02,160 Speaker 3: in the United States. 286 00:20:04,159 --> 00:20:06,399 Speaker 1: But the hope didn't last long. 287 00:20:06,959 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 3: After three days, it was burned to the ground by 288 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,359 Speaker 3: angry Philadelphians. But it's not just that the hall is 289 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 3: burned down after three days. It's that people in Philadelphia 290 00:20:17,879 --> 00:20:21,719 Speaker 3: blame abolitionists for bringing on the burning down of Pennsylvania Hall. 291 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 3: They said you caused this because you were radicals. You 292 00:20:25,199 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 3: spoke against slavery. You didn't listen to all the people 293 00:20:27,399 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 3: who told you to keep quiet and not say anything. 294 00:20:30,399 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: The pressure was mounting from all sides, the silence of 295 00:20:33,399 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 1: the growing abolitionist movement, violence in the streets, a gaggoeder 296 00:20:37,919 --> 00:20:41,079 Speaker 1: in the US capital. But this is why John Quincy 297 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: Adams was such an ally for the movement and a 298 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:48,639 Speaker 1: lethal politician. He knew all the rules. Possibly more important, 299 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: he knew how to use the rules against his enemies. 300 00:20:54,879 --> 00:20:58,359 Speaker 1: Shortly after the burning of Pennhall, Congress took up debate 301 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,879 Speaker 1: over the annexation of Texas. Resolutions poured into the Capitol, 302 00:21:03,159 --> 00:21:08,359 Speaker 1: arguing both for and a against annexation. The Foreign Affairs Committee, 303 00:21:08,399 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: dominated by slaveholders, refused to even read the resolutions. This 304 00:21:15,919 --> 00:21:19,319 Speaker 1: gave Adams an opening. I'm going to paraphrase again, but 305 00:21:19,439 --> 00:21:22,959 Speaker 1: this is essentially how it all went down. Adams asked, 306 00:21:23,439 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: have these petitions received even five minutes of consideration? Peeved? 307 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: The chair of the committee addresses him, how dare any 308 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 1: member catechise the Committee of its actions, essentially saying, how 309 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 1: dare you question our intentions? Another member blurts out, no, 310 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 1: we haven't read the resolutions. Big deal. Adams, knowing the rules, pounced. 311 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 1: He knew the committee was required to read the petitions 312 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,920 Speaker 1: even if they don't address them, and he knew they 313 00:21:57,959 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: hadn't read them. So the committee goes, all right, whatever, 314 00:22:01,879 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 1: let's propose a resolution to take no action on these petitions. Then, 315 00:22:07,159 --> 00:22:12,039 Speaker 1: out of nowhere, Adam's favorite Southern foil, Wattie Thompson of 316 00:22:12,679 --> 00:22:16,919 Speaker 1: you guessed it, South Carolina, doubles down. He says, you 317 00:22:16,959 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: know what, I'd like to propose an amendment to that resolution. 318 00:22:20,719 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: My amendment calls on the President to immediately annex Texas. 319 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,639 Speaker 1: Watty shoots a grin over at Adams, thinking he has 320 00:22:28,679 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: the upper hand, but he'd actually walked right into John 321 00:22:31,879 --> 00:22:38,119 Speaker 1: Quincy's trap. Adams knew Thompson would add some asenine amendment, 322 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,319 Speaker 1: and he knew that you can amend an amendment. So 323 00:22:42,479 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 1: Adams makes an amendment. He says, okay, neither the President 324 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 1: or Congress has the power to annex Texas. This amendment 325 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:57,679 Speaker 1: gave Adams complete access to the House floor to talk endlessly. 326 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:08,159 Speaker 1: Waddie unwittingly had ripped the gag off Adams. Adams was unleashed. 327 00:23:08,919 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: He argued for women's suffrage and equal rights. He spoke 328 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: against the annexation of Texas. He quoted the Constitution and 329 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:21,199 Speaker 1: the Declaration of Independence. He essentially filibustered for three weeks. Eventually, 330 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: a committee member asks Adams if he's ever gonna shut up. 331 00:23:26,159 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 1: Adams says that if the gentleman wished, he would. 332 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,959 Speaker 5: Enter into a full and strict scrutiny of slavery, and 333 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 5: so long as God shall give me life and breath 334 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,919 Speaker 5: and the faculty of speech, he shall have it to 335 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 5: his heart's content. 336 00:23:43,959 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: Adams basically says, I can do this all day, every day, 337 00:23:48,719 --> 00:23:53,679 Speaker 1: and twice on Sunday. Adams jammed up the House debate. 338 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,519 Speaker 1: Over the course of the weeks he had held the floor, 339 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 1: newspapers printed his various rants. Instead of silencing him, his 340 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:07,479 Speaker 1: opponents had essentially given him a bull and with this bullhorn, 341 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,959 Speaker 1: Adams turned up the political pressure on the new President, 342 00:24:11,199 --> 00:24:17,920 Speaker 1: Martin van Buren, making it nearly impossible to annex Texas. Eventually, 343 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: Van Buren relented. 344 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 3: If John Quincy Adams doesn't do his multi week filibuster. 345 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,160 Speaker 3: In June and July of eighteen thirty eight, these famous 346 00:24:29,159 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 3: Morning Hour speeches. It's pretty clear that the slave power 347 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,279 Speaker 3: might well have succeeded in getting a vote on Texas 348 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 3: annexation earlier, and maybe successfully, But John Quincy Adams really 349 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:43,679 Speaker 3: turns the entire North against this. 350 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:53,359 Speaker 1: Adams for the win. The annexation of Texas had stalled, 351 00:24:53,919 --> 00:24:56,759 Speaker 1: but the fight over slavery was more heated than ever. 352 00:24:57,479 --> 00:25:00,479 Speaker 1: Within a year, it would boil over when a group 353 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: of enslaved Africans revolted and took over a ship destined 354 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,199 Speaker 1: for Theribbean. When the Africans were captured off the coast 355 00:25:08,199 --> 00:25:11,840 Speaker 1: of the United States, a question spread across the nation, 356 00:25:12,639 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: what should happen to them? Like always, John Quincy Adams 357 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:34,279 Speaker 1: found himself at the center of it all. On the 358 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,519 Speaker 1: next episode of Founding Son, when. 359 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 3: A son says, you know, this could undermine everything you're 360 00:25:39,959 --> 00:25:43,039 Speaker 3: working for. But John Quincy Adams thinks the opposite. But 361 00:25:43,159 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 3: he's not willing to get involved until Lewis Happened shows 362 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:47,719 Speaker 3: up in his doorstep. 363 00:25:48,239 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 5: They urged me so much and represented the case of 364 00:25:51,679 --> 00:25:55,479 Speaker 5: those unfortunate men as so critical, it being a case 365 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 5: of life and death, that I yielded and told them 366 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 5: that if by the blessing of God, my health and 367 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 5: strength should permit, I would argue the case well the 368 00:26:05,439 --> 00:26:06,199 Speaker 5: Supreme Court. 369 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 1: Founding Son is a curiosity podcast brought to you by 370 00:26:13,919 --> 00:26:18,399 Speaker 1: iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. For help with this episode, 371 00:26:18,439 --> 00:26:21,599 Speaker 1: we want to thank James Traub, author of John Quincy 372 00:26:21,639 --> 00:26:26,919 Speaker 1: Adams Militant Spirit, Richard Newman, professor of history at Rochester 373 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,719 Speaker 1: Institute of Technology, and Louisa Thomas, staff writer at the 374 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 1: New Yorker and author of Louisa The Extraordinary Life of 375 00:26:35,439 --> 00:26:39,959 Speaker 1: Missus Adams. Our lead producer, story editor and sound designer 376 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,719 Speaker 1: is James Morrison. Our senior producer is Jessica Metzker. Our 377 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:49,279 Speaker 1: production manager is Daisy Church. Fact checking by Adam Bisno. 378 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 1: This episode was mixed and mastered by George Hicks. Executive 379 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:59,519 Speaker 1: producers are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, L. C. Crowley, and 380 00:26:59,639 --> 00:27:04,959 Speaker 1: Jason English. Original music by me Bob Crawford. Additional scoring 381 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 1: by Blue Dot Sessions. John Quincy Adams is voiced by 382 00:27:09,159 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 1: Patrick Warburton, Andrew Jackson is voiced by Nick Offerman. Luisa 383 00:27:14,439 --> 00:27:18,359 Speaker 1: Adams is voiced by Gray Delisle. Additional voices in this 384 00:27:18,439 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: episode provided by Ben Sawyer and Michael Smerconish. Show art 385 00:27:22,679 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: designed by Darren Shock. Special thanks to John Higgins from 386 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:32,399 Speaker 1: Curiosity Stream, Julia Chris Gaal, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and 387 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: the National Park Service. We couldn't do this podcast without them. 388 00:27:36,679 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 1: If you're a fan of the podcast, please give it 389 00:27:39,159 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: a five star rating in your podcast app. You can 390 00:27:42,479 --> 00:27:46,279 Speaker 1: also check out other Curiosity podcasts to learn about history, 391 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:51,239 Speaker 1: pop culture, true crime, and more. This podcast was recorded 392 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:55,879 Speaker 1: under a SAG after collective bargaining Agreement. I'm your host, 393 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:58,200 Speaker 1: Bob Crawford. Thanks for listening. 394 00:28:04,159 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 4: School of Humans