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Legal History Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Legal History Publications

2020

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Full-Text Articles in Legal History

People V. Croswell: Libelous Truth, The Common Law, And Battlefield Of The Bloodless Revolution, Samuel A. Schwartz Jan 2020

People V. Croswell: Libelous Truth, The Common Law, And Battlefield Of The Bloodless Revolution, Samuel A. Schwartz

Legal History Publications

The case of People v. Croswell will forever stand for the spirited arguments by leading legal minds about the legality of using truth as a defense to criminal libel, establishing the common law, and determining the role of the jury. But it is the story of Harry Croswell, young firebrand Federalist editor of The Wasp, that provides an insightful view into the turbulent political scene that stormed fiercely across the United States at the turn of the nineteenth century.