Criminal Dissent : Prosecutions under the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 / Wendell Bird.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bird, Wendell, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Alien and Sedition laws, 1798.

Seditious libel--Law and legislation--United States--History--18th century.

Seditious libel.

Freedom of expression--United States--History--18th century.

Freedom of expression.

United States--History--1797-1801.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (561 pages)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The prosecution of dissent under the Alien and Sedition Acts affected far more people than previously realized. It also provoked the first battle over the Bill of Rights. Wendell Bird provides the definitive account of a dark moment in U.S. history, reminding us that expressive freedom and opposition politics are essential to a stable democracy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

1. Federalist and Republican Views of Government

2. Passing Laws against Internal Enemies

The Sedition Act First Campaign: The "Suppression of the Whig Presses"

3. Common Law Sedition Prosecutions

4. Targeting Opposition Members of Congress

5. Keeping the North Safe from Sedition

6. Failed Prosecutions

7. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

The Sedition Act Second Campaign: The Rebellion the Army Could Not Find

8. The Fries Rebellion and Sedition

9. The Army and the Sedition Act

The Sedition Act Third Campaign: "The Reign of Witches" and the Election of 1800

10. A New Round of Enforcement

11. New York Prosecutions

12. New England Prosecutions

13. Prowling the Circuit Stalking Sedition

The Alien Act: "Worthy of the 8th. or 9th. Century"

14. French Intriguers and Hordes of Wild Irishmen

15. At the Mercy of One Man

Epilogue

Appendix: Alien and Sedition Act Prosecutions

Abbreviations

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Jan 2020)

ISBN:

9780674243880

0674243889

9780674243873

0674243870

OCLC:

1129100939