John Quincy Adams, Slavery, and the Disappearance of the Right of Petition

Abstract

The first amendment prohibits Congress from making any law that abridges the right of the people “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This clause reflects many years of practical experience with petitions, both in England and in the American colonies. Unlike the right of free speech, which has attracted much scholarly attention, the right of petition has received little scrutiny from commentators or judges. The scope of the substantive right embodied in the clause is still a matter of dispute.This article explores a key incident in the history of the right of petition—the congressional imposition in the 1830s of a “gag rule” to prohibit the reception of petitions related to slavery. This restriction on petitions was a turning point both for a change in the meaning of the right and for the procedures permitted by Congress to give it expression. The gag rule effectively quashed the right to petition as it had been exercised for centuries—as a means of communicating the people's grievances to government. Although the right still exists, its traditional usage and meaning “disappeared” in the 1830s.