Flappers & Fiction

Grace Greenwood recounts her memories of ante-bellum Washington political gatherings hosted by Gamaliel Bailey and his wife Margaret. Bailey, born in 1807, was a physician turned journalist who became editor of The National Era, an anti-slavery newspaper that faced mob violence but survived to publish Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The author describes visiting Washington in 1850 during the debate over the Compromise Measures and Fugitive Slave Law, observing legendary senators like Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Stephen Douglas. She provides detailed portraits of these political giants and reflects on the remarkable assembly of statesmen who shaped American history during this crucial pre-Civil War period.