Lesson 2: Speaking Freely: The Sedition Act of 1798

Secured by passage of the Bill of Rights in 1791, press freedom seemed guaranteed, that is until 1798 and passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Sedition Act punished publication of “any false, scandalous and malicious writing or writing against the government of the United States or Congress or the President, with the intent to defame or to bring them into contempt or disrepute.” The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton and President John Adams, argued the laws were needed to protect the United States from foreign invaders and propagandists. Democratic-Republicans, the newly formed party led Jefferson and Madison, regarded the Sedition Act as a direct threat to individual liberty and a political barrier to a free press.