didn't hurt that she was the daughter of the most powerful man in the united states senate, thomas hart benton from missouri. it didn't hurt that thomas hart benton of missouri didn't have this report of captain fremont published in the government printing office because that made it public information in all the newspapers all over the country, reprinted this and fremont became what we used to think -- like we used to treat astronauts. all about heroes and that is what fremont became. just as kearney was making his march and the war was started and the west was farther up, fremont launched another exploration which he said he did on -- under secret orders from the president of the united states himself to take this band of trappers, 60 heavily-armed -- almost an army in those days and go to california and if possible capture it. the interesting part of that was a war hadn't started yet. people had gone into trouble by starting wars. especially young captain's but fremont insisted -- over and across the mountains he went. became mixed up with something called the bear flag revolt in california

during the discussions, one man by the name of foote got up and lamb -- lambasted thomas hart, a senator from missouri, and benton took it just so long and he got up and he started for foot and foot kept backing up and backing up until his back was against the desk of the vice president. and he came toward him and foot put his hand in his jacket and he pulled out a pistol and, of course, benton stopped dead in his tracks and said, shoot you damn assassin, shoot. and other senators, of course, took the pistol away from foote. he said i was only trying to protect myself. this was happening on the floor of the senate. and it was worse in the house where there were so many of them. there was fists fights and the sergeant of arms said if there had been an explosion it couldn't have been any worse. it ended in a melee. but now, you see, a compromised had passed and everybody recognized that the south would not secede. the men who attended the nashville convention argued in favor of secession but decided to allow congress to decide the issue. and so they got the thing passed the south didn't secede the north prepared it