National Debate

Giddings was a prominent member of the Whig party, but northern Whigs distanced themselves from him almost as quickly as Democrats and southerners. President Harrison promised to purge the party of subversives like the Ohio representative. In his inaugural address three weeks after the commotion, Harrison pointedly denounced the "harbingers of disunion, violence and civil war."

For Giddings, the speech became a turning point in his lifelong campaign against slavery. It also marked the commencement of his interest in the Black Seminoles. This fascination would culminate in 1858 when Giddings authored the first history of the community, The Exiles of Florida.