Matthew Lyon: The Hampden of Congress

J. Fairfax McLaughlin's 1900 biography on Matthew Lyon. Page images were scanned from original book. Lyon has the distinction of being the only person to be elected to Congress while in jail. On October 10, 1798, Lyon was found guilty of violating the Alien and Sedition Acts, which prohibited malicious writing of the American government or its officials. Lyon was the first person to be put to trial for violating the acts on charges of criticizing Federalist president John Adams and disagreeing with Adams' decision to go to war against France. Lyon was sentenced to four months in jail and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs. While in jail, Lyon won election to the Sixth Congress. In the election of 1800 Matthew Lyon cast the deciding vote for Jefferson after the election went to the House of Representatives because of an electoral tie. Lyon's trial, conviction, and incarceration boosted his status among the fledgeling American Republican political elite as something of a free-speech martyr.