Historian: The Whisper Spot in Statuary Hall

Dear Cloture Historian -

The Whisper Spot in Statuary Hall is a popular place that I’ve taken my friends and family on tours to.  I had a question, and a simple yes or no would suffice, but is it true that John Quincy Adams used to pretend to fall asleep and listen to the opposing party discuss strategy and policies?
Thanks!

- Confused

Dear Confused…

No, no and a billion times no (sorry, but this is another tall tale).
John Quincy Adams DID NOT pretend to fall asleep at “The Whisper Spot” and listen to the other side discuss strategy, mostly because that acoustic effect that we know of today was so muted out by furniture, drapes, rugs, and other materials in the House chamber when it was located in what is now Statuary Hall from 1807-1857.

John Quincy Adams did oftentimes fall asleep during debates when the House was in session, not to pretend to listen but because well, the guy was old! However, during a debate on February 21, 1848, John Quincy Adams was giving a speech and collapsed in his seat. His colleagues simply thought, “Oh, Adams is just falling asleep again,” however after they shook him and called out his name, he didn’t react and they became very nervous. It appeared that he had suffered a stroke and they carried him into the Speaker’s office, currently the Lindy Boggs Women’s Reading Room on the other side of Statuary Hall, and he died in the room two days later. The couch he died on is STILL IN THAT ROOM! Way creepy, but thankfully it has been re-upholstered since then.

On February 26, 1848, there was a funeral ceremony held in the House chamber (Statuary Hall) for the late John Quincy Adams. Adams was the only President in U.S. history to have returned to the House AFTER his Presidency.

- Cloture Historian

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