1. John Quincy Adams
After his one term in the White House, Adams became one of just two presidents to return to Congress (Andrew Johnson was the other), serving in the House from 1843 until he died on the job. During a floor debate in 1848, Adams loudly voted "No" on a resolution, then collapsed at his desk. He was moved to the Speakers Lobby where he fell into a coma and died two days later. Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln, then a freshman Congressman, would serve as a pallbearer at his funeral.
2. Morris Michael Edelstein
Edelstein, a New York Democratic Representative, made his final floor speech count. Fellow Rep. John Elliot Rankin of Mississippi had just given an antisemitic speech, accusing "our international Jewish brethren" of trying to "harass the President of the United States into plunging us into the European war." Edelstein, who was Jewish, offered a rebuttal, which closed with:
"I deplore the idea that any time anything happens, whether it be for a war policy or against a war policy, men in this House and outside this House attempt to use the Jews as their scapegoat. I say it is unfair and I say it is un-American. As a member of this House I deplore the allegations because we are living in a democracy. All men are created equal regardless of race, creed or color. Whether a man be a Jew or a Gentile he may think what he deems fit."
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