This U.S. Representative who eventually represented two states was imprisoned for violating the Sedition Act of 1798.
- David Stone
- Matthew Clay
- Matthew Lyon
- Thomas Davis
Matthew Lyon who represented Vermont then later Kentucky. Lyon was jailed under the act for saying President John Adams had “an unbounded thirst for ridiculous pomp.” He was reelected by the voters of Vermont while in jail. When the 1800 presidential election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson failed to produce an electoral winner and had to be decided in the House of Representatives, Lyon cast Vermont’s vote for Jefferson.
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