"My opinions, even if I were the president of the United States, are neither important nor necessary." - Zachary Taylor
Fun Fact:
Henry Clay's 1850 Omnibus Bill for the admission of California as a free state; establishing territorial governments in Utah and New Mexico, leaving the question of slavery to those states to determine; establishing the border of Texas to exclude New Mexico; paying Texas' debts; not abolishing slavery in D.C. but prohibiting the slave trade there; and recognizing that Congress had no power to prohibit the slave trade between slave holding states, consumed months of debate in the Senate.
A variety of plans and amendments were presented. Some carved California into multiple states; some split Texas into two or more states. Only Clay's plan left Texas intact.
Clay received the support of Stephen Douglas, and Lewis Cass railed against the Southern Democrats and their desire for an effective veto over any legislation. Senator Tom Benton argued in support of admitting California--although he opposed the omnibus compromise bill as a concession to those who threatened seccession. Senator Foote seized the opportunity to ridicule Benton with veiled reference to his daughter eloping with John C. Fremont--and challenged Benton to a duel. The feud between Benton and Foote would later boil over on the Senate floor during debate.
Foote decided to support the compromise, and Benton determined to sway the Senate against it or destroy it with amendments and prolonged debate. At one point Benton offered 9 amendments to the bill which would leave it a useless husk. The amendments were continually voted down, but Benton simply offered more of the same ilk.
Foote at last gained the floor to defend Clay and the bill; he repeated a claim that Benton had taken bribes. Benton leaped to his feet and came at Foote. The latter backed away and as Benton drew close, he drew a horse pistol from his vest. Vice-president Fillmore, presiding over the Senate, shouted for order, and senators dragged Benton away from Foote. He broke away from the holds, bearing on toward Foote again, who pointed the pistol at him.
"Let him fire!" Benton cried, tearing open his coat and shirt to bare his chest. "Let the assassin fire!"
Other senators pried the gun free and locked it in Foot's desk. Naturally, Benton, who had initiated the appearance of a physical attack, raged that a pistol had been brought to assassinate him, and Foote's protestations of possessing the pistol for defense only went unheeded. A committee formed later to investigate the incident did absolve Foote of wrong doing, finding he had drawn the pistol in self-defense.
The above was gleaned from several chapters of Fergus Bordewich's America's Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen Douglas and the Compromise that Preserved the Union.
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Well, sometimes the chickens come home to roost - and that can be a good thing. I've recently submitted 3 short stories for publication and yesterday I learned that the third one was accepted for publication. That's three stories in a row with notices coming in three successive weeks. The competition was said by the editor to be particularly fierce for this third publication, and I'm ecstatic that my story made the cut. I do have a fourth story submitted and another that needs editing before I submit it.
I've started writing an adventure novel for boys. The idea didn't spark my interest when the call for submissions first came, but I finally decided that I am uniquely qualified to write great adventure books for boys. First, I have been (and always will be) a boy, having started at a very young age. I knew a lot of boys growing up. Not only did I read a lot of old adventure books as a boy, I now write adventure in various genres. My writing may be at its best when creating and relating exciting action and boundless adventure. In fact, last week, one of my readers shared a similar observation and noted that my use of historical themes and strange creatures hits the bull's eye. I'll cop to that charge.
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