Only the author’s name is on the cover, but many people share the credit for bringing such a large project to fruition. I have many to thank.
I am tremendously grateful to New York University for its continuing encouragement of scholarly work. The university provided me with a semester sabbatical and research support during the four years it took to bring the book from idea to completion. My colleagues, especially Perri Klass, Adam Penenberg, and Mitchell Stephens, provided constant encouragement and were understanding when my mind dwelled for too long in the eighteenth century. Several student research assistants deserve my thanks. Hannah Hendler, Brian Bouton, Margaret Flavell, Rianne MacInnes, and Anna Lee helped me find information and documents that were important to my historical narratives. I appreciate all their efforts.
I am deeply indebted to several prominent scholars who provided invaluable help on this project. Ronald K.L. Collins, the Harold S. Shefelman Scholar at the University of Washington School of Law, read the proposal for the book and offered many helpful suggestions for avenues of inquiry. Once I had completed the writing, John P. Kaminski, director of the Center for the Study of the American Constitution at the University of Wisconsin and coeditor of the multi-volume The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, meticulously read the manuscript and marked it up with thought-provoking comments and questions. Robert M. O’Neil, emeritus professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law and former director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, also read the manuscript and, among other things, provided important observations about Jefferson’s involvement in the controversy over freedom of the press. Thomas Healy, professor of law at Seton Hall Law School and author of The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind—and Changed the History of Free Speech in America, read the final two chapters and provided many helpful comments about ratification and the Sedition Act controversy.
No matter how excited a writer is about his idea for a book, nothing will happen unless a small group of people believes in it. This book would have never achieved liftoff without a few people who saw merit in my ideas and provided critical help at the outset. My special thanks go to Katherine Flynn and John Taylor “Ike” Williams, my literary agents at Kneerim & Williams. They helped shape my book proposal and then guided me with good counsel and good humor. I am very appreciative to Karen Wolny, executive editor at St. Martin’s Press, who saw the potential in my project and acquired it for her list. She provided the critical editorial support and guidance to make the book a reality.
Once the manuscript was in hand, a talented production team at St. Martin’s Press went to work. Thanks go to Laura Apperson for all her behind-the-scenes work, and to Donna Cherry, senior production editor, whose diligence kept the book moving smoothly through the many steps to publication. My thanks go as well to Bill Warhop, who performed his copyediting magic on my prose, Polly Kummel for her excellent proofreading, and to David Baldeosingh Rotstein, who designed a striking cover for the book. And I appreciate Christopher Cecot’s work in compiling an index that makes the book easy to navigate. I am grateful to Gabrielle Gantz, associate director of publicity, and Alastair Hayes, marketing manager, for their expertise in gaining a wider audience for my work.
My research for Revolutionary Dissent rested largely on primary source materials. Fortunately, many of the central characters in my narratives left behind extensive writings that have been collected in books, archives, and databases. I benefitted from the extraordinary work of editors and librarians who have compiled these materials over the years into useful forms. The Massachusetts Historical Society offers an extraordinary archive of founding era material, especially on John Adams and the protests against the British. I also benefitted from collections at the New York Historical Society, the Library of Congress, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Virginia, and many other institutions.
NYU’s Bobst Library was a kind of second home for me. It provided many books and collections that proved indispensable to my work, including an electronic file of eighteenth-century American newspapers. Two NYU librarians, Katy Boss and Alexa Pearce, were my expert guides through the research material. They quickly tracked down books and articles that I couldn’t find myself and offered valuable advice along the way. I’m very grateful for their patient help.
I save my greatest expression of gratitude for my family—Debbi Dunn Solomon, Brian Solomon, and Sarah Solomon. They listened as I recounted stories of free speech conflicts from centuries ago, visited historical sites with me, and read and commented on some of the chapters. Most of all, they provided unwavering support and encouragement every day.