Five or six days after the election, when I hastily committed myself to write a five-part series of reflections (I had probably had too much coffee), the title of Episode 2, as you see, was “Fred plays the amateur historian and reflects on how we’ve been here before (and survived).”
As I began to develop this idea, the immediate question that presented was, “Well, what does here mean? Where are we?”
In a very particular sense, of course, we have not been here before. Never before has a twice-impeached insurrectionist and convicted felon (also facing 44 counts in two federal indictments and 8 counts in the remaining state indictment, all of which are likely to go away) been elected to the highest office in the land.
But in a larger sense, we have been here before. Our national history is one of courage, honor, and sacrifice, but it also has a darker side. Our history is replete with conflicts between rich and poor, and with people scheming for wealth and power at the expense of others. With individuals and small groups controlling the narrative and straining the bounds of truth to secure what they want. With egregious suffering of social and ethnic minorities.
I have chosen to reflect on authoritarianism. Definitions vary, but common features include the concentration of power in a select group, framing the narrative… creating the story… that works to the advantage of building or maintaining power, and often the suppression of dissent and subjugation or dismissal of somebody else.
In the upcoming four posts, I want to look at some examples.
John Adams and the Sedition Act
Less than twenty years after France had supported the American colonies in the American Revolution, hostilities erupted between the United Staes and the newly-formed French First Republic. The two-year “Quasi-War” arose in a context of shifting international alliances and competition. Disputes with France over military cooperation treaties and war loan repayment ushered in a maritime free-for-all, in which French privateers seized American ships trading with the British and the United States responded by hastily building a navy, which saw action against French ships in the Caribbean and in waters off the American east coast.
The American administration was headed by President John Adams. Born in 1735, Adams was a Founding Father and had assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence. He served as president with the Federalist party, joining Alexander Hamilton and others in advocating for a strong central government. Standing in opposition was the Democratic-Republican party, led by Vice President Jefferson and James Madison.
The political climate was tense and deeply divided, with each side holding their vision for governance and jockeying for advantage.
Controlling the mechanisms of government, the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. Adams framed the acts as “war measures,” but Jefferson saw them as attempts to solidify political dominance.
The Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws. A naturalization act extended the time required of immigrants to seek United States citizenship. The Alien Friends Act gave the president the power to deport any alien he considered to be dangerous. The Alien Enemies Act gave the president the power to deport aliens who came from countries at war with the United States. The two Alien acts were never invoked, likely because many people of French descent chose to leave voluntarily in an unwelcoming climate.
The fourth law was the Sedition Act. The Sedition Act was the first United States law to make free speech a criminal offense. It made it a crime to “write, print, utter, or publish” any “false, scandalous or malicious writing” that was intended to defame the president or congress.
Unlike the Alien laws, the Sedition Act had consequences. Twenty-six Americans, including leading Republican journalists, were arrested for violating the Sedition Act. Ten were tried, and all were convicted by largely partisan juries and judges. Vermont congressman Matthew Lyon was convicted and imprisoned for accusing Adams of selfishness and avarice. He campaigned for reelection to congress from jail and won. Republican editor Thomas Cooper was convicted and imprisoned for arguing against the abridgment of civil rights inherent in the Sedition Act. Journalists James Callendar and Benjamin Franklin Bache (a grandson of Benjamin Franklin) were similarly arrested, with Bache dying in jail as he awaited trial.
Publicity about the suppression of speech and the conduct of trials prompted widespread objection. The Democratic Republicans swept into power in the 1800 elections and two of the Alien and Sedition Acts, including the Sedition Act itself, expired at the end of Adams’ presidency. The naturalization act was repealed in 1802.
The Alien Enemies Act remains a part of the United States Code. It was invoked by candidate Donald Trump at his Madison Square Garden rally as a context for his plan to deport illegal immigrants.
I’ll be out of town traveling to our winter home in Tucson beginning later this week. The next post, on December 3, will be “Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears.”
Happy Thanksgiving to you and loved ones.
As I began to develop this idea, the immediate question that presented was, “Well, what does here mean? Where are we?”
In a very particular sense, of course, we have not been here before. Never before has a twice-impeached insurrectionist and convicted felon (also facing 44 counts in two federal indictments and 8 counts in the remaining state indictment, all of which are likely to go away) been elected to the highest office in the land.
But in a larger sense, we have been here before. Our national history is one of courage, honor, and sacrifice, but it also has a darker side. Our history is replete with conflicts between rich and poor, and with people scheming for wealth and power at the expense of others. With individuals and small groups controlling the narrative and straining the bounds of truth to secure what they want. With egregious suffering of social and ethnic minorities.
I have chosen to reflect on authoritarianism. Definitions vary, but common features include the concentration of power in a select group, framing the narrative… creating the story… that works to the advantage of building or maintaining power, and often the suppression of dissent and subjugation or dismissal of somebody else.
In the upcoming four posts, I want to look at some examples.
John Adams and the Sedition Act
Less than twenty years after France had supported the American colonies in the American Revolution, hostilities erupted between the United Staes and the newly-formed French First Republic. The two-year “Quasi-War” arose in a context of shifting international alliances and competition. Disputes with France over military cooperation treaties and war loan repayment ushered in a maritime free-for-all, in which French privateers seized American ships trading with the British and the United States responded by hastily building a navy, which saw action against French ships in the Caribbean and in waters off the American east coast.
The American administration was headed by President John Adams. Born in 1735, Adams was a Founding Father and had assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence. He served as president with the Federalist party, joining Alexander Hamilton and others in advocating for a strong central government. Standing in opposition was the Democratic-Republican party, led by Vice President Jefferson and James Madison.
The political climate was tense and deeply divided, with each side holding their vision for governance and jockeying for advantage.
Controlling the mechanisms of government, the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. Adams framed the acts as “war measures,” but Jefferson saw them as attempts to solidify political dominance.
The Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws. A naturalization act extended the time required of immigrants to seek United States citizenship. The Alien Friends Act gave the president the power to deport any alien he considered to be dangerous. The Alien Enemies Act gave the president the power to deport aliens who came from countries at war with the United States. The two Alien acts were never invoked, likely because many people of French descent chose to leave voluntarily in an unwelcoming climate.
The fourth law was the Sedition Act. The Sedition Act was the first United States law to make free speech a criminal offense. It made it a crime to “write, print, utter, or publish” any “false, scandalous or malicious writing” that was intended to defame the president or congress.
Unlike the Alien laws, the Sedition Act had consequences. Twenty-six Americans, including leading Republican journalists, were arrested for violating the Sedition Act. Ten were tried, and all were convicted by largely partisan juries and judges. Vermont congressman Matthew Lyon was convicted and imprisoned for accusing Adams of selfishness and avarice. He campaigned for reelection to congress from jail and won. Republican editor Thomas Cooper was convicted and imprisoned for arguing against the abridgment of civil rights inherent in the Sedition Act. Journalists James Callendar and Benjamin Franklin Bache (a grandson of Benjamin Franklin) were similarly arrested, with Bache dying in jail as he awaited trial.
Publicity about the suppression of speech and the conduct of trials prompted widespread objection. The Democratic Republicans swept into power in the 1800 elections and two of the Alien and Sedition Acts, including the Sedition Act itself, expired at the end of Adams’ presidency. The naturalization act was repealed in 1802.
The Alien Enemies Act remains a part of the United States Code. It was invoked by candidate Donald Trump at his Madison Square Garden rally as a context for his plan to deport illegal immigrants.
I’ll be out of town traveling to our winter home in Tucson beginning later this week. The next post, on December 3, will be “Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears.”
Happy Thanksgiving to you and loved ones.