By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | December 13, 2018
Some 98 Milton women and 60 Milton Mills women submitted a memorial, i.e., a petition, in opposition to the Congressional “Gag Rule” resolution of December 21, 1837.
The resolution against which the Milton women fought was a cheap parliamentary technique or trick designed to suppress any and all opposition to slavery.
CONGRESS. MEMORIALS AGAINST THE RESOLUTION OF 21ST DECEMBER, 1837. In the House of Representatives, on the 12th March, 1838, Mr. Cushing presented the following memorials, praying the House to rescind the resolution of the 21st December, 1837, viz:
[Extracted from a lengthy list of petitions]
Sarah W. Ricker, and 97 others, women of Milton, N.H.; Mary Goldsmith, and 59 others, women of Milton Mills, N.H. (The Liberator (Boston, MA), June 15, 1838).
These 158 women represented over half (about 58%) of Milton’s adult women, in whom Milton can take great pride.
See also Milton and Abolitionism and Milton in the News – 1854
Previous in sequence: Milton in the News – 1830; next in sequence: Milton in the News – 1839
References:
Town of Milton. (2018, April 16). Board of Selectmen By-Laws. Retrieved from www.miltonnh-us.com/uploads/bos_71_1509444456.pdf
US House of Representatives. (n.d.). The House “Gag Rule.” Retrieved from history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1800-1850/The-House-of-Representatives-instituted-the-“gag-rule”/
Wikipedia. (2018, November 5). Gag Rule. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gag_rule
Milton Observer 