Editing Gag rule (United States) (section)

==United States Senate (1836)==
Senator [[John C. Calhoun]] of South Carolina attempted to create a Senate gag rule in 1836. The Senate rejected this proposal, which pro-slavery senators thought would have the rebound (reverse) effect of strengthening the [[abolitionism in the United States|abolition movement]]. They agreed on a method which, while technically not a gag that violated the [[Right to petition in the United States|right to petition]], had the same effect. If an anti-slavery petition were presented, the Senate would vote not on whether to accept the petition, but on whether to consider the question of accepting the petition.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Gag rule
|author=Secretary of the United States Senate
|author-link=Secretary of the United States Senate
|publisher=[[United States Senate]]
|access-date=January 25, 2020
|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Gag_Rule.htm
|archive-date=June 7, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607194750/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Gag_Rule.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name=Richards>{{cite book
|last=Richards
|first=Leonard L
|title=The Life and Times of Congressman John Quincy Adams
|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
|location=New York
|year=1986
|isbn=0-19-504026-0
|url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofcon00rich/page/30
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofcon00rich/page/30 30–50]
}}</ref> The Senate never voted in favor of considering the acceptance of any petition.