Although this newspaper piece was supposedly written by an African American named Pompey, the actual author was likely a White Federalist who had supported John Adams rather than Thomas Jefferson in the presidential election of 1800. The anonymous author used a stereotyped version of African American speech to satirically praise President Thomas Jefferson’s enthusiasm for the by-then controversial French Revolution. He also supported Jefferson’s supposed intention to completely level American society with help from French revolutionaries. The reference to “mister lyon” referred to the jailing three years earlier of Congressman Matthew Lyon of Vermont, a Jeffersonian Republican, under the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798.
Pompey. “Article by Pompey on President Jefferson in the Greenfield Gazette reprinted from the Massachusetts Spy newspaper.” Greenfield Gazette, May 4, 1801. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l12-007/. Accessed on December 5, 2025.
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