WHILE SERVING in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1844, John P. Hale of Dover broke with the Democratic Party by supporting the elimination of the “gag rule.” This 1836 directive, which was finally rescinded in December 1844, had stopped any consideration of slavery issues in the House.
John P. Hale’s strong anti-abolitionist stance of the 1830s gave way, over time, to a softening of the heart that led him to become an ardent anti-slavery campaigner.
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