ABSTRACT
After a half-century of relatively subdued journalism, editors tested boundaries in moments of crisis. One of the most acute periods was in the 1790s, a fraught, pressure-cooker decade when newspapers denounced politicians as well as one another and when many an editorial dispute was settled in a street fight. The arsenal for these literary gladiators included a regular display of dishonesty, forgery, and fabrication, but this era is probably best described not as one of mendacity but by anger and fear.
