The Impeachment and expulsion of Senator William Blount is little remembered today, but it represents an important legal watershed, and caused a literal brawl on the floor of congress. It was perhaps the greatest scandal in the history of America’s upper house.
Three classic episodes of The History Guy about how the Christmas season survives even tragedy.
The “Great Sedition Trial” uncovered shocking connections at the time with the German reich that we were fighting, and challenged the idea that the nation was of a single mind during the war. It also challenged exactly how far the national commitment to freedom of speech and opinion reached, especially in extraordinary times.