House funding impasse and passage

In April 1796, after two months of bitter fighting, Federalist Fisher Ames, though gravely sick, reached the podium and delivered a 90-minute impassioned defense later ranked among the greatest American speeches, falling exhausted in his chair to bipartisan silence. The final vote on April 29, 1796 stuck at a 49 to 49 tie. Frederick Muhlenberg, former Speaker and chairman of the Committee of the Whole handling the funding bill, shockingly voted yes; after one representative flipped in support, the vote stood 51 to 48. His decision ended his political career, and his brother-in-law, believing he had committed treason, stabbed him; Muhlenberg survived but never won another election.