Navigating Networks of Suspect Speech: The Abolitionist Mail Controversy of 1835

This article conducts a historical analysis of newspaper coverage and governmental debates from 1834 to 1837 over whether abolitionists should be restricted from the postal networks in the South. Three thematic categories emerged from my analysis of a controversy over abolitionists using the postal network in 1835: (1) balancing government regulation with free expression in the postal network, (2) concerns about individual postmasters meddling in the network, and (3) support for regulation, bridging postal law reform and ethics. This article contends that the 1835 debate showed the limitations of a libertarian understanding of free expression in the United States. These findings contextualize contemporary debates over reconciling the First Amendment with government regulation of digital networks when fashioning media policies that shape content moderation and free expression on digital platforms.