Trial of Reuben Crandall

Reuben Crandall (January 6, 1806 – January 17, 1838), younger brother of educator Prudence Crandall, was a physician who was arrested in Washington, D.C., on August 10, 1835, on charges of "seditious libel and inciting slaves and free blacks to revolt", the libels being abolitionist materials portraying American slavery as cruel and sinful.^: 124 He was nearly killed by a mob that wanted to hang him, and avoided that fate only because the mayor called out the militia. The Snow Riot ensued. Although a jury would find him innocent of all charges, his very high bail meant he remained in the Washington jail for almost eight months,^: 131 where he contracted tuberculosis. He died soon after his release.

This was the first trial for sedition in the United States.^{: 3 : 50–51} According to the Federal District Attorney Francis Scott Key, it was "one of the most important cases ever tried here."^: 46 His incarceration, trial, and acquittal increased support for abolitionism, and considerable sympathy for him was expressed in the press. "His case is one of the most oppressive and unjust that ever occurred in this country", said the New York Evangelist, which called for a Congressional investigation.

The whole episode is very much the work of Key. It was he who got Crandall arrested, persuaded a judge to deny him bail, and prepared himself an indictment described as voluminous. The verdict of not guilty left Key publicly embarrassed, and ended his political career.