Teacher Guides | Teacher Guides: History

Teacher Guide: The Sedition Act of 1798

Published: Dec. 1, 2020.

In 1798, a poor drifter named David Brown led a group in Dedham, Massachusetts to set up a liberty pole with the words “No Stamp Act, No Sedition Act, No Alien Bills, No Land Tax, downfall to the Tyrants of America; peace and retirement to the President; Long Live the Vice President.” He was arrested and found guilty under the new seditious libel law. Illustration by Nadim Silverman.

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Charles Slack English Law Federalist First Amendment James Madison John Adams Matthew Lyon Pre-Publication President Adams Sedition Act of 1798 Seditious Libel Supreme Court Thomas Jefferson Virginia Report of 1800

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