colonial precedents. According to Secretary
Wolcott, the sedition law was "merely a copy from a statute of Virginia in
October, 1776." But a revolutionary Whig measure aimed at Tories was a
very different thing in its practical aspect from the same measure used by
a national party against a constitutional opposition. Hamilton regarded
such legislation as impolitic, and, on hearing of the sedition bill, he
wrote a protesting letter, saying, "Let us not establish tyranny. Energy
is a very different thing from violence."

But in general the Federalist leaders were so carried away by the
excitement of the times that they could not practice moderation. Their
zealotry was sustained by political theories which made no distinction
between partisanship and sedition. The constitutional function of
partisanship was discerned and stated by Burke in 1770, but his definition
of it, as a joint endeavor to promote the national interest upon some
particular principle, was scouted at the time and was not allowed until
long after. The prevailing idea in Washington's time, both in England and
America, was that partisanship was inherently pernicious and ought to be
suppressed. Washington's _Farewell Address_ warned the people "in the most
solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party." The
idea then was that government was wholly the affair of constituted
authority, and that it was improper for political activity to surpass the
appointed bounds. Newspaper criticism and partisan oratory were among the
things in Washington's mind when he censured all attempts "to direct,
control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the
constituted authorities." Hence judges thought it within their province to
denounce political agitators when charging a grand jury. Chief Justice
Ellsworth, in a charge delivered in Massachusetts, denounced "the French
system-mongers, from the quintumvirate at Paris to the Vice-President and
minority in Congress, as apostles of atheism and anarchy, bloodshed, and
plunder." In charges delivered in western Pennsylvania, Judge Addison
dealt with such subjects as Jealousy of Administration and Government, and
the Horrors of Revolution. Washington, then in private life, was so
pleased with the series that he sent a copy to friends for circulation.

Convictions under the sedition law were few, but there were enough of them
to cause great alarm. A Jerseyman, who had expressed a wish that the wa