New Book "Liberty's First Crisis" Launches at Fairfield Library, March 8

Head to Fairfield's Main Library, at 1080 Old Post Road, for the launch of local author Charles Slack’s new book, Liberty’s First Crisis: Adams, Jefferson and the Misfits Who Saved Free Speech, on Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 pm in the Rotary Room.

Just seven years after the First Amendment was passed as part of the Bill of Rights, John Adams’ administration passed the Sedition Act of 1798, an extreme piece of legislation that made criticism of the government and its leaders a crime. Punishment included heavy fines and jail time. From a loudmouth in a bar to a firebrand politician to Benjamin Franklin’s own grandson, those victimized by the Sedition Act were as varied as the country’s citizenry. Liberty’s First Crisis vividly unfolds pivotal events in the early life of the United States when free speech was so soon challenged, and the Founding Fathers and Americans struggled to define and preserve the freedoms they had fought so hard to establish.

A reception with light refreshments will follow the author talk. Books will be available for purchase and signing at this event. Registration is requested.

Charles Slack is the award-winning author of several books. Hetty, based on the life of Wall Street pioneer Hetty Green, won the 2005 Connecticut State Book Award for Biography. Noble Obsession, based on the life of inventor Charles Goodyear, was named one of the 25 best “Books to Remember” for 2002 by The New York Public Library. Blue Fairways, an American journey based on a trip down the East Coast from Maine to Florida, one public golf course at a time, was a finalist for the United States Golf Association’s International Book Award. Slack lives with his family in Trumbull, CT.

All programs at the Fairfield Public Library are free. To register, or for more information about this and other programs, visit: www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org or call 203-256-3160. Follow the Fairfield Public library on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fairfieldpublib and Facebook: www.facebook.com/fairfieldlibrary.