In the summer of 1798, the United States faced one of its first real reckonings with liberty. The ink on the Constitution was barely dry, and the Bill of Rights, particularly that bold First Amendment, still had a new-car smell. But fear makes people do strange things. War fever with France was sweeping through the country, stoked by the XYZ Affair and the seizure of American ships. In that atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion, Congress passed a set of laws that would stain the legacy of President John Adams and put the meaning of American freedom to its first serious test.

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