The Sedition Act of 1798 and the seditious libel: the criminal treatment of the freedom of speech

Authors

  • Abel Arias Castaño Universidad de Oviedo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17811/hc.v0i10.234

Keywords:

American Constitutional Law. Freedom of Speech. First Amendment. Sedition Act of 1798. Seditious Libel

Abstract

It is a common-place in the American Constitutional Law to state that the Sedition Act of 1798 constitutes a crucial landmark in the history of the freedom of speech in this country. The paper analyzes the historical context that surrounds the enactment of the law and its similarities and differences with the crime of Seditious Libel which had been previously developed within the English Common Law. Finally, the work explores the controversy between Federalists and Republicans about the constitutionality of that Act.

Submission date: 07/08/2008

Acceptance date: 12/11/2008

Author Biography

Abel Arias Castaño, Universidad de Oviedo

Licenciado en Derecho con Premio Extraordinario por la Universidad de Oviedo (2003). En la actualidad prepara su tesis doctoral sobre “La Doctrina del Clear and Present Danger” en el Área de Derecho Constitucional de dicha Universidad. Ha ampliado estudios en el Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas de Madrid, en la London School of Economics, y en la Harvard Law School.

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Issue

No. 10 (2009): Historia Constitucional N. 10 (2009)

Section

United Kingdom and United States of America

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