Existing comment:
1790
Free Speech Curtailed:
In 1798, when Republican Matthew Lyon of Vermont and Federalist Roger Griswold of Connecticut fought in the House of Representatives, no one got into trouble. But when Lyon wrote a letter to a newspaper accusing President John Adams of "ridiculous pomp," the congressman was jailed for four months under the Sedition Act. The fight is depicted in this print.
1800
Adversarial Journalism:
In the early 1800s, Richmond Recorder co-owner James Thomson Callender used his newspaper to attack President Thomas Jefferson, once one of his political allies. Among Callendar's "entertaining facts": charges that Jefferson had paid a debt with depreciated money, attempted to seduce a friend's wife and kept a slave, Sally Hemings, as his mistress.
1810
El Misisipi Leads the Way:
The French invasion of Spain was the top story in the inaugural issue of El Misisipi in 1808. The New Orleans newspaper, printed in both Spanish and English, is the earliest known publication in the United States for Spanish-speaking Americans. "The sun rose over the unhappy people who will not see sunrises anymore," the war report in the first issue said.
1791 ... Bill of Rights ratified; First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition... |