THE SPITTING LYON

It is unquestionable that our Congress of today is dysfunctional. Members of the opposing political parties are disrespectful to each other. The lack of respect contributes to the dysfunction.

 

Politicians of opposing parties dislike each other. They speak poorly of each other. Even of the President.

 

I hear people comment how they long for another day when our elected officials showed respect to each other and got along.

 

Guess what? There was another time when Congressional representatives were disrespectful of each other and showed disdain for the President. Today is not new.

 

The time is January 30, 1798. The place the United States House of Representatives. Then sitting in Philadelphia, which was the capital of the U.S. at the time. The players Congressman Matthew Lyon of Vermont and Congressman Roger Griswold of Connecticut.

 

The two men were of opposing political parties. Lyon was a Democratic-Republican, also known as a Jeffersonian Republican. Griswold a Federalist.

 

Lyon had a checkered background. He was an experienced fighter, having fought Indians with the Green Mountain Boys. Durinmg the Revolution, he fought with the colonists against England. He ran into some problem during the Revolution and was court martialed for being a coward.

 

The preceding did not prevent him from being elected to the fifth and sixth Congresses of the United States.

 

On January 30, 1798, Lyon got into a heated argument on the floor of Congress with Griswold. Griswold reminded Lyon of his purported cowardness during the Revolution. Lyon spit in Griswold's face.

 

Lyon became known as the spitting Lyon. Even in those days, a play on words was common.

 

Congress had an Ethics Committee. Same as it does today. No one had ever been charged for an ethics violation to that time. Lyon became the first. The ethics carge was gross indecency. Spitting fell under gross indecency in the Committee rules.

 

Lyon now had two distinctions. The first to spit on a fellow Congressman and the first to be charged with an ethics violation by the Ethics Committee.

 

It was not the end of Lyon's mishaps, however.

 

Two weeks after the spitting incident, Lyon and Griswold physically fought on the floor of Congress. Lyon started beating Griswold with a cane. In defense, Griswold struck Lyon with fireplace thongs.

 

Lyon's political problems were still not at an end.

 

John Adams was President during these times. Lyon did not like the President. At the time, the Alien & Sedition Acts were in force. One of the provisions prohibited any one from slandering the President. Could you imagine if such a law were in effect today. Lyon accused the President of being pro British. 

 

Lyon was jailed. His time for reelection came up while he was jailed. The people of Vermont reelected him. He subsequently was found guilty and fined $1,000. An exorbitant sum at the time.

 

Does all this sound familiar? Without question. Political hatred today. Political hatred yesterday.