He that is not for us, is against us: An Analysis of Federalist Politics During the First Six Months of 1798, in the lead-up to the Alien and Sedition Acts, from the Perspective of the Gazette of the United States.

108 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2024

Date Written: October 31, 2004

Abstract

This thesis analyses American politics during the first six months of 1798 from the perspective of the Gazette of the United States. The Gazette was a leading Federalist newspaper published in Philadelphia and edited by John Fenno. The thesis provides a unique ‘snapshot’ of Federalist thought and journalism during the six months leading up to the enactment of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

The literature surrounding the role of newspapers during the Alien and Sedition Act crisis focuses on the political activities of editors and on the role played by Republican newspapers. Little scholarly attention has been given to the ideas and arguments expressed in the Federalist press. In contrast, this thesis analyses the arguments and opinions expressed in the Gazette’s news and editorial coverage during the six month period leading up to the draconian Alien and Sedition Acts and the imprisonment of Benjamin Bache, a prominent Republican newspaper editor.

The thesis argues that the Gazette’s coverage promoted fear of France and engendered fear of political opposition within the United States, and that the Gazette used these twin fears as the basis for its stridently Federalist political agenda. The thesis demonstrates that the Gazette sought to portray France as militaristic in its foreign policy, and despotic domestically. The Gazette demonstrated a fundamental uncertainty over the role of faction under the Constitution, and created a framework within which all political opposition was rendered illegitimate by dismissing such opposition as the product of either insurrection or ignorance. As political tensions escalated, the Gazette’s coverage reflected the increasingly populist and militaristic political climate. The thesis proves that by mid-1798, when the Alien and Sedition Acts were enacted, the Gazette had successfully drawn conceptual links between the fear of enemies from without and traitors from within.

Keywords: Alien and Sedition Acts, Sedition, Loyal Opposition, Faction, Federalist Party, John Fenno, John Adams, US history, Federalist politics, 1790s politics, University of Queensland, Legal history, Benjamin Bache

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Suggested Citation

Goss, Ryan,

He that is not for us, is against us: An Analysis of Federalist Politics During the First Six Months of 1798, in the lead-up to the Alien and Sedition Acts, from the Perspective of the Gazette of the United States.

(October 31, 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4995087 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4995087

Ryan Goss (Contact Author)

ANU Law School ( email )

5 Fellows Road
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600
Australia

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