Samuel Medary and the Crisis: Testing the Limits of Press Freedom

Book Summary: This political biography tells the story of Samuel Medary, a controversial journalist and political activist who published a Peace Democrat (Copperhead) newspaper - the Crisis - in Columbus, Ohio, during the Civil War. Medary, a staunch supporter of states' rights and civil liberties, opposed the Union war effort and fought against government attempts to suppress the peace movement. In his editorials he repeatedly encouraged civilian resistance to President Lincoln's policies, including conscription, martial law, and heavy taxation.

Samuel Medary and the "Crisis" is engaging reading for scholars and students of the history of journalism, the Civil War, Ohio and U.S. history, and the Constitution.