Prosecuting Sedition in a Divided Nation is a Challenge as Old as America

by William H. Pruden III

America's cultural value on free expression makes conviction of far-right radicals on sedition charges unlikely. The Ft. Smith, Arkansas trial in 1988 was a PR victory for the far right when 14 defendants accused of plotting against the government were acquitted. 

Our First Authoritarian Crackdown (Review)

by Brenda Wineapple

Wendell Bird argues that the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were used more broadly than historians have recognized, and reflect a shakier foundation of free speech in the early Republic. 

When is Dissent Treason?

by Terri Diane Halperin

It’s a question we’ve been asking since the birth of the Republic.