Democratic-Republican Societies, Subversion, and the Limits of Legitimate Political Dissent in the Early Republic

robert chesney, Wake Forest University School of Law

Abstract

This article contends that the first significant post-1789 clash between political liberties and the demands of security occurred in 1794, when Federalists made a concerted effort to delegitimize organized, non-electoral political dissent as practiced by the so-called Democratic-Republican Societies. The events associated with this effort provided the first occasion for sustained debate concerning the freedoms of expression, association, and the press, though the decentralized nature of the debate ultimately precluded any clear resolution.