Curated person dossier
Editor · Federalist politicianAlexander Contee Hanson
1786–1819
Publisher of the Federal Republican and target of the Baltimore mobsHanson opposed the declaration of war in uncompromising language. After a crowd destroyed his Gay Street office, he resumed publication and joined armed supporters in defending a Charles Street house on July 27, 1812.
Why this record matters
His beating, imprisonment, later congressional service, and early death make press freedom inseparable from the physical danger of wartime dissent.
Follow the evidence
Sources for this dossier
- Baltimore Residents Riot Against Antiwar DissentersNational Park Service · public history
The June and July 1812 attacks on the Federal Republican and its defenders.
- Alexander Contee Hanson: SourcesMaryland State Archives · biographical source guide
Contemporary newspaper narratives and archival references for Hanson and the Baltimore riots.
- An Exact and Authentic Narrative of the Events in BaltimoreContemporary pamphlet transcription · transcribed primary account
A partisan 1812 account by sufferers and eyewitnesses; indispensable testimony that must be read with its purpose and perspective in view.