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Arguing about Slavery: The Great Battle in the United States Congress
A blow-by-blow re-creation of the battle royal that raged in Congress in the 1830s, when a small band of representatives, led by President John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, employed intricate stratagems to outwit the Southern (and Southern-sympathizing) sponsors of the successive "gag" rules that had long blocked debate on the subject of slavery.
577 pages, Hardcover
First published January 16, 1996
29 people are currently reading
680 people want to read
About the author
William Lee Miller
28 books29 followersWilliam Lee Miller is Scholar in Ethics and Institutions at the Miller Center. From 1992 until his retirement in 1999, Mr. Miller was Thomas C. Sorensen Professor of Political and Social Thought and Director of the Program in Political and Social Thought at the University of Virginia. He was professor of religious studies from 1982 to 1999, and chaired the Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies from 1982 to 1990.
Prior to coming to the University of Virginia, he taught political science and religious studies at Indiana University, where he was also the founding director of the Poynter Center on American Institutions, and at Yale University and at Smith College.
During the 1960s, he served for six years as a member of Board of Aldermen, a government entity, of New Haven, Conn. William Lee Miller served as a speech writer for U.S. presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson's campaign in 1956. He was also a contributing editor and writer for The Reporter magazine.
Prior to coming to the University of Virginia, he taught political science and religious studies at Indiana University, where he was also the founding director of the Poynter Center on American Institutions, and at Yale University and at Smith College.
During the 1960s, he served for six years as a member of Board of Aldermen, a government entity, of New Haven, Conn. William Lee Miller served as a speech writer for U.S. presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson's campaign in 1956. He was also a contributing editor and writer for The Reporter magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
September 12, 2022
This is the second or third time I’ve attempted to read this book, but the first time that I’ve stuck with it and finished, and I’m so glad I did, despite the fact that my new hero, John Quincy Adams, wasn’t even mentioned till 100 pages in. It’s very dense - 500 pages of small font and small margins in my paperback version, and full of facts and complex sentences. However, it’s also full of dry wit, and treats of an interesting and little known period of history, giving a look at how social changes can come about internally. Maybe not the most important history book you’ll ever read, but definitely a worthwhile on. An Ambleside Online Year 10 book.
January 10, 2019
Every student in America should be required to read this book, along with C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow. Miller has provided a lesson in the true meaning of democratic values.
April 15, 2008
The best measure of my opinion about this book is that I own two copies: one that I've marked up with my comments in the margins and one that I use for lending purposes. It is what all history books should be. It covers a little known aspect of U.S. history -- the self-imposed gag order that Congress put on itself in the 1840s and the heroic efforts of John Quincy Adams in bringing the gag order down. The author, William Lee Miller, is a history professor at the University of Virginia, who is a phenomenal writer. His writing makes this book a joy to read. Somehow, he takes the Congressional Globe and creates a revelatory history of the time period. I appreciate most his moral sense. He captures the moral dilemma of the time period and makes it alive to modern-day readers. William Lee Miller has made John Quincy Adams a hero to me. I cannot recommend this book more highly.
February 2, 2024
This took me a long time to read, but it’s definitely history that needs to be told. So glad it’s included in AmblesideOnline’s high school curriculum.
February 28, 2021
Well. This book was dense, but perhaps the best history book I’ve read. I had no previous knowledge of the gag order and the work John Quincy Adams did to bring the issue of slavery to light. It’s a must read.
May 27, 2008
Most well-written history EVER
July 11, 2008
This is a favorite. I recommended it to the Adams County Library and they bought two! Mr. Miller almost makes the steam rising above Congress also rise from the pages of this book. I've read it several times.
October 4, 2022
John Quincy Adams was an absolute LION! I am utterly impressed at his unstoppable ardor to fight for the freedom of all humankind. Why did I know nothing about this before now?
For an almost 600 page book about a battle in the House of Representatives, this was surprisingly readable!
For an almost 600 page book about a battle in the House of Representatives, this was surprisingly readable!
April 19, 2019
This book was written back in 1995. In 1995, the country was emeshed in an effort to rid itself of tobacco. At the time tobacco was big business and ever present. People smoked in schools, at work, in libraries, everywhere. Tobacco lobbyist were some of the biggest and most powerful groups in the country (think 4-6 organizations like the NRA today, but stronger and more unified.)
Miller uses that image to discuss how big, powerful, and everpresent slavery was in the early 19th century---only slavery interests were bigger and stronger than the tobacco empire ever was! Today we don't have a lobby group as strong as tobacco in the 90s, and tobacco in the 90s was not as strong as slavery in the 19th century.
Miller has a way of explaining ideas and concepts in a way that has you thinking, "I knew that, but I never really thought of what that meant." This was a book that on just about every page there was an idea or concept that I wanted to remember.
The book is largely about John Quincey Adams and his efforts to oppose the gag rule in Congress. A rule that said you can't talk about slavery.
He was a genius.
The stories are hilarious. The Nine Women From Richmond and the 22 Slaves from Virginia are well worth the read.
Rules be damned. Go ahead and censure me... I welcome it was his motto.
This book is not a book to read fast, it rarely takes me a week or two read a book of this size. But it took me about 5 weeks to digest this one. There is just so much in this book.
Miller uses that image to discuss how big, powerful, and everpresent slavery was in the early 19th century---only slavery interests were bigger and stronger than the tobacco empire ever was! Today we don't have a lobby group as strong as tobacco in the 90s, and tobacco in the 90s was not as strong as slavery in the 19th century.
Miller has a way of explaining ideas and concepts in a way that has you thinking, "I knew that, but I never really thought of what that meant." This was a book that on just about every page there was an idea or concept that I wanted to remember.
The book is largely about John Quincey Adams and his efforts to oppose the gag rule in Congress. A rule that said you can't talk about slavery.
He was a genius.
The stories are hilarious. The Nine Women From Richmond and the 22 Slaves from Virginia are well worth the read.
Rules be damned. Go ahead and censure me... I welcome it was his motto.
This book is not a book to read fast, it rarely takes me a week or two read a book of this size. But it took me about 5 weeks to digest this one. There is just so much in this book.
November 9, 2022
Interesting read. I learned a lot more about the battle against slavery leading up to the civil war and the role John Q Adams played. Also, how something that seems so horrible to us, such as slavery, was defended morally. Reminds me that we can argue morally for anything, if our morals aren’t rooted in God.
April 11, 2009
In order to establish a union, the nation’s founders had to craft documents acceptable to both northern and southern states. Therefore, the U.S. Constitution both allowed for the practice of slavery and provided the means of abolishing it. The words slave and slavery are never mentioned in the document, and the founders edited out specific references to white men. The United States were founded upon principles of equality and civil liberties and as a representative government, which afforded openings to correct the massive injustice of slavery.
The First Amendment provides five rights or freedoms: speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. Although little thought of today, the right of petition meant a great deal in antebellum America. Constituents could petition their representatives to correct grievances. Many northerners requested the introduction of measures to abolish slavery. Southerners, finding the reading of such petitions unacceptable, invoked a gag rule against them. Anti-slavery petitions were not permitted to be read on the House floor.
John Quincy Adams served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 17 years after he was president (just imagine a modern president doing that). He was a tireless and savvy opponent of the gag rule, believing that it was unconstitutional, and was a major spokesman against the interests of slaveholding states. This book details Adams’ battle to have the gag rule lifted. It is a struggle that one hears little about today, eclipsed as is was by the drama of the Civil War, but its importance cannot be overstated. Miller describes the fight over the gag rule as “the first explicit and extended struggle between American slavery and what would be called, in a later century, the American Creed.”
It sounds dry, but it isn’t. I have bought two copies of this book and read it cover-to-cover twice. Miller makes history—the kind you don’t learn about in history courses—come alive. I came away from this book with great admiration for John Quincy Adams and for the resiliency of our Constitution. We are still one country and slavery was abolished via constitutional amendment. Thank you, John Quincy Adams.
The First Amendment provides five rights or freedoms: speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. Although little thought of today, the right of petition meant a great deal in antebellum America. Constituents could petition their representatives to correct grievances. Many northerners requested the introduction of measures to abolish slavery. Southerners, finding the reading of such petitions unacceptable, invoked a gag rule against them. Anti-slavery petitions were not permitted to be read on the House floor.
John Quincy Adams served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 17 years after he was president (just imagine a modern president doing that). He was a tireless and savvy opponent of the gag rule, believing that it was unconstitutional, and was a major spokesman against the interests of slaveholding states. This book details Adams’ battle to have the gag rule lifted. It is a struggle that one hears little about today, eclipsed as is was by the drama of the Civil War, but its importance cannot be overstated. Miller describes the fight over the gag rule as “the first explicit and extended struggle between American slavery and what would be called, in a later century, the American Creed.”
It sounds dry, but it isn’t. I have bought two copies of this book and read it cover-to-cover twice. Miller makes history—the kind you don’t learn about in history courses—come alive. I came away from this book with great admiration for John Quincy Adams and for the resiliency of our Constitution. We are still one country and slavery was abolished via constitutional amendment. Thank you, John Quincy Adams.
March 8, 2024
From a 21st century perspective the issues are so clear, the attitudes of the Congressional players so clearly "good guys" vs. "bad guys." I found it fascinating to watch John Quincy Adams, perhaps America's finest diplomat and one of our least successful Presidents (the failure of strong principles and the presumption that being right makes might!), as he staked his claim on the right of all Americans to petition the Congress to state our grievances and to have those petitions acknowledged. The fact that the most challenged petitions focused on the abolition of slavery and led to continuing battles in Congress over gag rules to prevent any discussion of that peculiar institution provides the core to this fine read. An interesting window into the pre-Civil War history of the discussion of slavery, an insightful presentation of the intriguing "JQA." This book has pulled me back into continuing reading on the extended interim between the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
January 6, 2009
This book was a life changing experience for me. I had no idea John Quincey Adams was in the House of Representatives after he was President, or that he played such a crucile role in keeping debate in the House an issue and a value. Also, the Author's research was meticulous and I felt confident in every detail of the debates he presented. Made me proud of our New England ancestors and founding fathers........
May 13, 2010
A fascinating story told with supreme skill by William Lee Miller. John C. Calhoun will enrage you with his Orwellian justifications for slavery. John Quincy Adams' audacious exploits will leave you in awe of his chutzpah. The quaint idiosyncracies of old-time Congress will have you chuckling. And you'll come away learning a whole lot. This book is awesome!
May 28, 2023
Super interesting if a touch too detailed in places for my taste. If you aren’t already a fan of the Adamses, this book will likely make you one.
March 16, 2018
I generally don't read many history books and even less that are this in depth about the goings on in congress. But I've heard this book recommended by several people. Frequently I've heard and wondered myself why it took the civil war to end slavery. Why didn't the people just vote to end it? Was the whole nation racist? Why did it cost over 600,000 lives to pay for the sin of slavery? I think everyone should read this book to understand the political climate of the nation at the time as well as the motivations on both sides.
I was surprised at how it was virtually impossible for anyone to even bring up the subject of slavery in congress. If you did all the democrats from the slave states would give red faced speeches flowing with righteous indignation claiming you were treasonous and traitor who wishes to dissolve the union by daring to question slavery. You were the lowest of the low to them.
But it wasn't just angry words in congress as we found out. Even if you lived in the north and were outspoken about abolition your house could be ransacked and all your furniture thrown in the street at burned, you could be beaten and stoned. Governors in the north sympathetic to slavery could have you run out of town. Elijah Lovejoy was killed by a mob while defending his printing press in Illinois. In the south it was much worse abolitionists were threatened with death if they brought any abolitionist material south. Even the postal service in the south was burning any such material and the issue was later brought up on congress.
The author paints a vivid picture of the U.S. in the early 1800's starting with the forming of the abolition society who was primarily comprised of Quakers and who's flyers were mostly handed out by women. They were also instrumental in organizing the signing of petitions to abolish slavery.
These petitions were brought forth in congress dutifully by a few of their representatives as the author pointed out even if they didn't agree with the petitions. They felt it their duty and honor to defend the right to petition as granted in the first amendment. The travesty was that as soon as someone tried to read one in congress they'd get shouted down and a vote would be called to "table" the petition which basically meant they would lay the petition on the table and never look into it. So, the people’s right to petition was being ignored.
About 230 pages in or so it starts getting good. J.Q. Adams (former president now congressman) relentlessly raises the slavery issue over and over by presenting petition after petition. The dude had some balls and it was great watching the southern congressmen squirm then get outraged and hurl insults, and in many cases walk out. Despite his boldness the pro abolition members did not have the numbers to affect any real change. Any time he tried to propose something or have something sent to committee they were voted down. So much so that they eventually passed a gag rule saying anything having to do with slavery was automatically tabled and was not to be talked about. He agitates them so much they vote to censure him. The best part is he votes for himself to be censured too! Because if he is censured he has the right to defend himself which means they can't stop him from talking about whatever he wants. 'Let's have it out Let's see if you can censure me. Have you considered what that means?' I won't tell you how that works out but it's probably the best part.
This book is primarily about the struggle by J.Q. Adams and a few other like minded congressmen trying to get the gag rule overturned. It's brought up how many abolitionists are famous for changing the public sentiment on slavery but a number of politicians like J.Q. got very little credit when they were the ones in congress actually trying to affect change of the laws.
All this said at times some of this can be a bit dry to the average reader who does not have a big interest in history and it is a bit of a read at well over 500 pages. That said it's a important and meaningful read and will give you a better understanding of beginning of the abolition movement before the big names like Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Lincoln were around.
I was surprised at how it was virtually impossible for anyone to even bring up the subject of slavery in congress. If you did all the democrats from the slave states would give red faced speeches flowing with righteous indignation claiming you were treasonous and traitor who wishes to dissolve the union by daring to question slavery. You were the lowest of the low to them.
But it wasn't just angry words in congress as we found out. Even if you lived in the north and were outspoken about abolition your house could be ransacked and all your furniture thrown in the street at burned, you could be beaten and stoned. Governors in the north sympathetic to slavery could have you run out of town. Elijah Lovejoy was killed by a mob while defending his printing press in Illinois. In the south it was much worse abolitionists were threatened with death if they brought any abolitionist material south. Even the postal service in the south was burning any such material and the issue was later brought up on congress.
The author paints a vivid picture of the U.S. in the early 1800's starting with the forming of the abolition society who was primarily comprised of Quakers and who's flyers were mostly handed out by women. They were also instrumental in organizing the signing of petitions to abolish slavery.
These petitions were brought forth in congress dutifully by a few of their representatives as the author pointed out even if they didn't agree with the petitions. They felt it their duty and honor to defend the right to petition as granted in the first amendment. The travesty was that as soon as someone tried to read one in congress they'd get shouted down and a vote would be called to "table" the petition which basically meant they would lay the petition on the table and never look into it. So, the people’s right to petition was being ignored.
About 230 pages in or so it starts getting good. J.Q. Adams (former president now congressman) relentlessly raises the slavery issue over and over by presenting petition after petition. The dude had some balls and it was great watching the southern congressmen squirm then get outraged and hurl insults, and in many cases walk out. Despite his boldness the pro abolition members did not have the numbers to affect any real change. Any time he tried to propose something or have something sent to committee they were voted down. So much so that they eventually passed a gag rule saying anything having to do with slavery was automatically tabled and was not to be talked about. He agitates them so much they vote to censure him. The best part is he votes for himself to be censured too! Because if he is censured he has the right to defend himself which means they can't stop him from talking about whatever he wants. 'Let's have it out Let's see if you can censure me. Have you considered what that means?' I won't tell you how that works out but it's probably the best part.
This book is primarily about the struggle by J.Q. Adams and a few other like minded congressmen trying to get the gag rule overturned. It's brought up how many abolitionists are famous for changing the public sentiment on slavery but a number of politicians like J.Q. got very little credit when they were the ones in congress actually trying to affect change of the laws.
All this said at times some of this can be a bit dry to the average reader who does not have a big interest in history and it is a bit of a read at well over 500 pages. That said it's a important and meaningful read and will give you a better understanding of beginning of the abolition movement before the big names like Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Lincoln were around.
February 18, 2022
Of all of the narratives of history to be written about, the blow by blow account of the arguments and struggle to be able to debate slavery in congress isn't what comes to mind as an engaging or exciting story. But Miller skillfully brings to life the men who were involved in the 24th, 25th, and 26th congress, the drama of John Quincy Adams and his prodding congress to debate slavery, the subsequent (and unconstitutional) gag rule, and Adams' never ceasing struggle to continue to bring the issue of slavery before congressmen who really didn't want to talk about it. At over 500 pages mostly taking place in congress, it is a history book that takes commitment from the reader. But its story is so important and worth the effort. I've always loved and had a great deal of respect for John and Abigail Adams, David McCullough's biography of John Adams being one of my favorites, so I was thrilled to continue to journey through history with another Adams, John's son, John Quincy. Although he didn't have the same irony or wit as his father, he did have the same fervent love for his country and its republic. In his old age he fought for the right to petition, when more powerful men sought to censor that right. Not to mention fighting relentlessly to at least discuss what he saw as the blackest mark on the country-slavery. This book has made me love this country more for the honorable people that stood up for what was right despite great opposition. While the lifting of the gag rule didn't avoid the war that John Quincy Adams predicted would come, it is, as Miller rightly points out, men like these that did a great deal toward the ending of slavery. And for this we can be proud.
July 18, 2019
Explores the arguments on the floor of Congress in the 1830s and 1840s on the road to the Civil War. The few anti-slavery reps insistently and bravely creating space to speak while reps from the south violently fight to silence literally all debate or *mention* of slavery in the halls of Congress.
Shockingly moving for a 500 page book about Congressional debate. I've never been so excited about parliamentary procedure. 😅
It's a powerful answer to questions about how we pass moral judgment on people from the past. Even in the most immoral society there are moral people who rise up. Although for wealthy white northern politicians, it must've taken astounding moral clarity to expect, accept and *affirm* the violence that would have to come before justice could arrive with emancipation.
"We know that the day of your redemption must come. The time and the manner of its coming we know not: It may come in peace, or it may come in blood; but whether in peace or or in blood, LET IT COME...
...Though it cost the blood of MILLIONS OF WHITE MEN, LET IT COME. Let justice be done, though the heavens fall."
--- John Quincy Adams, IN EIGHTEEN FORTY FOUR (first half was from a speech to a free black community, then quoted against Adams in Congress -- THE SECOND PART WAS LITERALLY ON THE US CONGRESS FLOOR)
Shockingly moving for a 500 page book about Congressional debate. I've never been so excited about parliamentary procedure. 😅
It's a powerful answer to questions about how we pass moral judgment on people from the past. Even in the most immoral society there are moral people who rise up. Although for wealthy white northern politicians, it must've taken astounding moral clarity to expect, accept and *affirm* the violence that would have to come before justice could arrive with emancipation.
"We know that the day of your redemption must come. The time and the manner of its coming we know not: It may come in peace, or it may come in blood; but whether in peace or or in blood, LET IT COME...
...Though it cost the blood of MILLIONS OF WHITE MEN, LET IT COME. Let justice be done, though the heavens fall."
--- John Quincy Adams, IN EIGHTEEN FORTY FOUR (first half was from a speech to a free black community, then quoted against Adams in Congress -- THE SECOND PART WAS LITERALLY ON THE US CONGRESS FLOOR)
July 17, 2024
There's a few things Miller's book is about.
Most centrally, it is about the Gag Rule, or really, the series of Gag Rules about slavery in the US House of Representatives in the 1830s. It is also about the birth of the abolition movement in the North, and is about President John Quincy Adams' later tenure as a Massachusetts representative.
There's also a number of more minor themes of course. An interesting one is the fact that the fight centered around the right to petition. It's not something we really pay attention to these days, but it is actually the right with the longest recognition in English use. Miller also spends time going into the points of view clashing in these fights, and the impossibility of making a subject go away by refusing to talk about it.
There's also a love for going through the old Congressional records on Miller's part. There's a lot of quotes from actual speeches as recorded in the two newspapers that covered the doings of the government. This is accompanied by a lot of commentary; explanations of the wider circumstances, summary of what's been said leading to the part he quotes, etc. Unfortunately, there is a tendency towards just restating what has been said. Sometimes (often), the other bits involved means this enhances the quote he's restating, but too often it is just a direct restatement without any purpose.
Other than that last problem, this is a great, well-written book, that is a great study of the US political process relatively early in its life. It deserves to be widely read. However, the Kindle edition deserves to be shunned. It is obvious that someone scanned the book, ran it through OCR, and poured it into ebook format, and never even looked at the result. The table of contents is a disaster, there's a number of graphics present that are just the spine of the book from the scan, year references such as "I8 3 r" are common, the page header (title and chapter names) are left in (along with page numbers), and the start of each subchapter is a jumbled out-of-order mess.
Most centrally, it is about the Gag Rule, or really, the series of Gag Rules about slavery in the US House of Representatives in the 1830s. It is also about the birth of the abolition movement in the North, and is about President John Quincy Adams' later tenure as a Massachusetts representative.
There's also a number of more minor themes of course. An interesting one is the fact that the fight centered around the right to petition. It's not something we really pay attention to these days, but it is actually the right with the longest recognition in English use. Miller also spends time going into the points of view clashing in these fights, and the impossibility of making a subject go away by refusing to talk about it.
There's also a love for going through the old Congressional records on Miller's part. There's a lot of quotes from actual speeches as recorded in the two newspapers that covered the doings of the government. This is accompanied by a lot of commentary; explanations of the wider circumstances, summary of what's been said leading to the part he quotes, etc. Unfortunately, there is a tendency towards just restating what has been said. Sometimes (often), the other bits involved means this enhances the quote he's restating, but too often it is just a direct restatement without any purpose.
Other than that last problem, this is a great, well-written book, that is a great study of the US political process relatively early in its life. It deserves to be widely read. However, the Kindle edition deserves to be shunned. It is obvious that someone scanned the book, ran it through OCR, and poured it into ebook format, and never even looked at the result. The table of contents is a disaster, there's a number of graphics present that are just the spine of the book from the scan, year references such as "I8 3 r" are common, the page header (title and chapter names) are left in (along with page numbers), and the start of each subchapter is a jumbled out-of-order mess.
November 2, 2019
It took me five months to slog through this book, but I made it and I don't regret it. The tone of the book begins as annoyingly superior, but the author reins it in and focuses on one of the most important and difficult to describe events of the run-up to the Civil War; John Quincy Adams's multi-year fight to remove the gag rule on abolitionist petitions from the House of Representatives.
I know, I know, it's as interesting as it sounds. And the author does not manage to make it fascinating. But he does manage to convey the sequence of events, which no other book I've ever read has ever done. Even if it wasn't riveting, even when it was happening, it was extremely important. Miller demonstrates that it was Adams who created the framework of abolition, defining the battleground, the terms, and the moral authority. It takes a boring book to reveal that, and it took five months to read that boring book.
I know, I know, it's as interesting as it sounds. And the author does not manage to make it fascinating. But he does manage to convey the sequence of events, which no other book I've ever read has ever done. Even if it wasn't riveting, even when it was happening, it was extremely important. Miller demonstrates that it was Adams who created the framework of abolition, defining the battleground, the terms, and the moral authority. It takes a boring book to reveal that, and it took five months to read that boring book.
January 7, 2024
4.5 stars
Possibly one of the best, most thoughtful, works I have read on John Quincy Adams. Beyond the examination of the former President (among other things), we are treated to wit (a lot of it), and introduced to many lesser-known characters in the narrative that is US history. If the names Theodore Weld, Joshua Giddings, Henry Wise, or any South Carolinian congressman (sans John Calhoun) don't ring a bell, they will by the end of this book.
Perhaps a bit wordy and distracted in part, but that's ok! Great first read of 2024.
Possibly one of the best, most thoughtful, works I have read on John Quincy Adams. Beyond the examination of the former President (among other things), we are treated to wit (a lot of it), and introduced to many lesser-known characters in the narrative that is US history. If the names Theodore Weld, Joshua Giddings, Henry Wise, or any South Carolinian congressman (sans John Calhoun) don't ring a bell, they will by the end of this book.
Perhaps a bit wordy and distracted in part, but that's ok! Great first read of 2024.
July 5, 2022
Outstanding book! I have developed a new appreciation of John Quincy Adams as a result. As a cantankerous old man, long after his term as president, he led the fight against the gag rules, sometimes virtually alone. This is primarily that story. Much less slow-moving than a reader might be tempted to think, since it is a chronicle of congressional debates. I highly recommend this book. The author is able to create a very rousing ending as well.
September 2, 2017
A delve into the politics and government of the 19th century, and the nine year debate in the U.S. Congress of eradicating the peculiar institution of slavery from the fabric of America. "Shame on a nation that fosters and sustains an institution which dares assail and would destroy the sacred right of petition."
December 24, 2023
One of the most engrossing and enlightening history books I have ever read. While purposely limited in scope this book manages to nonetheless explore many of the political an social forces that led to the Civil War and more importantly the abolition of slavery. It also helps that my favorite president John Quincy Adams figures prominently!
January 26, 2021
Brilliant! I read this in 1998 when it came out in paperback. I found it even more impressive now as patterns discussed in the book have, unfortunately, returned to American politics, even in the Congress & in the White House
July 4, 2021
Loved this book. Read this alongside my 16 year old for school, it was quite an accomplishment! Long and detailed but amazingly written. Miller takes what could be very mundane events and makes them fascinating.
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February 23, 2023This book had more detail than I cared to know but I’m glad I stuck with it. This is a very interesting period in American history. The author did a good job of connecting smaller events to more well known events regarding abolition.
February 12, 2024
What a great book! It highlighted the political build-up to the Civil War in a unique way, blending congressional debate transcripts (with all the original name-calling and cries for order) and deep thought about the how and the why. If you like debate, the Civil War, or both, this book is for you!
March 26, 2020
This book is beautiful. It's gripping and fascinating. There's a reason people say something is as interesting as parliamentary procedure: they haven't read this book yet.
February 3, 2022
This is a fantastic book about the work that went into freeing the slaves, and it especially gives great insight into JQA. He is not appreciated enough for his tireless work and clear thinking!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews