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He accused
Federalist leaders of wanting a submissive, unthinking populace. He said they set themselves about the people, and expected them, like "the subjects of Julius Caesar, we must bow down and worship our Leaders as the Gods of Jupiter and Mars." Brown thought if people didn't fight back they
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Chase called seven prosecution witnesses to testify against Brown but Brown, who did not have a lawyer, was not able to cross examine them. One witness testified that he had heard Brown teaching that the aim of government "was to plunder and steal." This same witness said he had a large effect on
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This, plus the fact that elected officials only represented speculators, and not the common man, meant that representative government did not work in his opinion. He believed that
Americans would soon find themselves "the same chains of American tyrants that we once sported ourselves from under
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In the early
American republic, Brown went throughout the towns arguing against the newly formed national United States government. He had written a treatise entitle "Dissertations," and would preach from it as he traveled, hoping to raise enough money to print it before the next election.
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to a very light penalty for his part in erecting the pole, Chase came down hard on Brown for the "malignity and magnitude" of his crimes. Brown apologized to the judge and promised not to repeat the behavior. He also asked the judge not to impose a fine, as he had no way of paying it off.
74:
as possible, that a few men should possess the whole country and the rest be tenants to the others." Additionally, he thought the current system created a cycle in which the elites used their wealth to gain more political power, and then used their political power to create more wealth.
341:
In
December 1800, at the end of his term, Brown could not afford to pay the fine and President Adams refused to set him free. In February 1801, approaching two years, the longest sentence of anyone under the Sedition Act, Brown again appealed to Adams and was again denied.
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838:
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in
Captain James Green's company.He suffered several injuries fighting in New York. He may also have served in Captain Eleazor Hutchinson's company of militia and deserted for six weeks in the fall of 1776.
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Brown was indicted in June 1799. He initially pled not guilty, but when he saw the strength of the government's case against him he changed his plea to guilty. Despite the guilty plea, Justice
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were "to be brought into abject slavery." He worried that if
Congress did not start listening to the public that the public "will finally break out like the burning mountain of
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for trial. The
Federalist press at the time was convinced there were others like him, causing trouble and raising liberty poles in every corner of the state.
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wanted him to name everybody who had helped him or who subscribed to his writings. Brown refused, saying doing so would cause him to "lose all my friends."
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39:
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288:, No Land Tax, downfall to the Tyrants of America; peace and retirement to the President; Long Live the Vice President," referring to then-President
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Chase fined him $ 400, plus $ 80 in court fees. He then sentenced Brown to 18 months in prison, the most severe sentence then imposed under the
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Brown thought the wealthy had gained too much political power in the new republic: "All our administration is fast approaching to
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There were several David Browns from
Connecticut who served in the Revolution. He may have been a lieutenant in the
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called him a "wandering apostle of sedition" who spread "bold falsehoods" and "artful and inflammatory sophistry."
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Free speech, "the people's darling privilege": struggles for freedom of expression in
American history
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No copies of
Dissertations survive, but sections were read into court records and thus were preserved.
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What Kind of Nation: Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States
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251:
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The American Liberty Pole: Popular Politics and the Struggle for Democracy in the Early Republic
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Lure says it was six months in prison, plus as additional six because he could not pay the fine.
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Perilous times: free speech in wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the war on terrorism
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58:. It is unknown what Brown did after his release from prison, or where or when he died.
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537:
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List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
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118:
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Liberty's First Crisis: Adams, Jefferson, and the Misfits Who Saved Free Speech
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but because he could not afford the $ 4,000 bail, he was taken to
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The American counterrevolution: a retreat from liberty, 1783-1800
87:, and we'll have an unconditional redress of their grievances."
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Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
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and received the harshest sentence for anyone under the
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After two years of touring New England, he arrived in
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in November 1798. There, Brown led a group including
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pardoned Brown along with all violators of the act.
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Lurie says the pole rose a week after he left town.
814:People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution
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30:because of his criticism of the United States
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824:Recipients of American presidential pardons
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543:. W. W. Norton & Company. p.
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16:For others of a similar name, see
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345:In 1801, newly elected President
829:History of Dedham, Massachusetts
819:American prisoners and detainees
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780:. University of Virginia Press.
311:Trial, imprisonment, and pardon
669:. Simon and Schuster. p.
1:
734:Curtis, Michael Kent (2000).
54:, Brown was a veteran of the
834:People convicted of sedition
18:David Brown (disambiguation)
535:Stone, Geoffrey R. (2004).
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789:. Atlantic Monthly Press.
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56:American Revolutionary War
15:
661:Simon, James F. (2003).
379:9th Connecticut Regiment
785:Slack, Charles (2015).
755:Tise, Larry E. (1998).
336:Alien and Sedition Acts
301:Andover, Massachusetts
299:Brown was arrested in
52:Bethlehem, Connecticut
776:Lurie, Shira (2023).
323:those who heard him.
266:Dedham, Massachusetts
132:Dedham, Massachusetts
276:with the words, "No
192:Settlers' lifestyles
36:Sedition Act of 1798
761:. Stackpole Books.
326:Despite sentencing
292:and Vice President
252:Dedham Liberty Pole
197:American Revolution
40:Dedham Liberty Pole
708:, p. 421-422.
328:Benjamin Fairbanks
270:Benjamin Fairbanks
32:federal government
768:978-0-8117-0100-6
747:978-0-8223-2529-1
680:978-0-684-84871-6
554:978-0-393-05880-2
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107:History of Dedham
38:for erecting the
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62:Political views
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46:Personal life
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317:Samuel Chase
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282:Sedition Act
274:liberty pole
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166:2000–present
126:Main article
91:Liberty pole
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77:
65:
49:
23:
22:
728:Works cited
718:Curtis 2000
609:Curtis 2000
286:Alien Bills
259:Fisher Ames
119:Fisher Ames
24:David Brown
808:Categories
694:Lurie 2023
649:Lurie 2023
585:Lurie 2023
508:Lurie 2023
491:Slack 2015
479:Lurie 2023
452:Lurie 2023
416:References
290:John Adams
79:Britain."
706:Tise 1998
626:Tise 1998
597:Tise 1998
467:Tise 1998
278:Stamp Act
212:Education
202:Civil War
161:1900–1999
156:1800–1899
151:1700–1799
146:1635–1699
353:See also
182:Timeline
174:By topic
100:a series
98:Part of
28:sedition
138:By year
72:Commons
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102:on the
365:Notes
305:Salem
284:, No
280:, No
85:Aetna
68:Lords
791:ISBN
763:ISBN
742:ISBN
675:ISBN
549:ISBN
207:Rail
70:and
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673:.
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338:.
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239:e
232:t
225:v
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
