“Speech of Mr. [James] Garland of Virginia on a Memorial from Massachusetts, for the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia. Delivered in the House of Representatives, January 26, 1836” National Intelligence Office.
“Remarks of Mr. [James Henry] Hammond, of South Carolina, on the Question of Receiving Petitions for the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia. Delivered in the House of Representatives, February 1, 1836.” Washington City: Duff Green.
The American Anti-Slavery Society organized petition drives demanding that Congress abolish slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Anticipating thousands of petitions during the 24th Congress (1835-1837), Southern representatives, including James Henry Hammond and James Garland, argued that abolition in any jurisdiction violated the constitutional right to private property and successfully advocated that the House of Representatives establish a gag rule to block the reading of these abolitionist petitions.