The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were the first
successful laws passed in the United States to repress freedom of speech and
eject foreign-born citizens from the country. Sponsored by the Federalist
Party, and signed into law by President John Adams, these measures were
designed to silence the Republican Party and critics of the federal government
during a period of hostility with France.
It was conflict in Europe between the young French Republic
and monarchist Great Britain which set the stage for passage of these US laws.
The pro-British Federalist Party had signed Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain,
inciting the ire of the French Republic and that of the pro-French Republican
Party. Crisis in Freedom follows the events, beginning with the signing
of Jay’s Treaty. John C. Miller proceeds to elucidate the use of the Alien and
Sedition acts as an instrument of repression. Newspaper editors and writers
were jailed; Americans born in Europe were deported; and several papers ceased
to publish. He also examines resistance to these measures that led to the
downfall of Adams and the Federalists in the following elections. Subsequently,
one witnesses the decline and extinction of this once dominant party in the
young USA.
It is a story with a happy ending, which the author presents
in story form. Professor Miller’s dedication of his book reveals a decided
preference for storytelling: “To Samuel Eliot Morison, in whose hands history becomes
enduring literature.” This is not to say that Miller plays loosely with the
facts. His narrative is comprehensively researched. The political nuances of
the time, and intentions of the players, are fully discussed. Both the
structure of the events, and the presentation of the historical figures, reveal
the author’s desire to produce a work of history that also has artistic merit.
The chapters are numbered in the manner of some novels, rather than titled with
subjects. Miller presents the opportunistic villainy of the Federalists, and
the heroism of their opposition, in a dramatic genre. In spite of this
depiction, one will come away from Crisis in Freedom with an
understanding that all is not black-and-white. There were honorable intentions
among some Federalists, as well as disreputable behavior by some of their
victims. But it’s hard not to cheer for those forces fighting for our First
Amendment rights.
Not just the structure of the tale, but also the style of
the writing is worth examining. Sometimes Miller is a bit self-conscious that
he is creating historical “literature,” and not just plainly representing the
past. As a result, he can get carried away with the drama of his narrative. For
example, regarding the potential war between France and the US, he says of the
Federalists “they resolved to fight gamely to the end…they proposed to show
that at least the gentlemen of the United States knew how to die.” (Miller, p.
23). Blinded by the fluidity and passion of his own creation, Miller fails to
recognize that the Federalist leaders knew they had no fear of personal bodily
injury in combat. Then, as now, politicians sent working-class people into the
rain of bullets to defend the brave words of national leaders. Information can
become a casualty in historical writing where artistry is prized above
empiricism. Fortunately, extravagant flights of words are made infrequent by
the author’s conflicting dedication to relate history accurately.
Despite the occasional friction between art and fact, this
is a well-told history of events. Miller achieves enough balance between his
intentions regarding historical literature and presenting what actually
happened. Despite some human error, he generally shows that these factors need
not be in conflict. His study of the Alien and Sedition Acts is predominantly
told accurately and well.
Miller, John C. Crisis in Freedom. The Alien and Sedition
Acts. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.
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