April 26
April 26
Mountain man James Beckwourth is born
James Beckwourth, one of only a handful of early mountain men to emerge from the system of slavery, is born in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The exact year of Beckwourth’s birth is…
A Year In History: 1798
This Year in History:
1798
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
June 18
June 18
President John Adams oversees passage of first of Alien and Sedition Acts
President John Adams oversees the passage of the Naturalization Act, the first of four pieces of controversial legislation known together as the Alien and Sedition Acts, on June 18, 1798.…
July 7
July 7
U.S. launches the Quasi‑War with France, the first conflict since the Revolution
On July 7, 1798—15 years after the Revolutionary War ended—Congress rescinds treaties with France and starts two and a half years of what is called the Quasi‑War with its former…
July 13
July 13
Wordsworth visits Tintern Abbey
While on a walking tour, William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy visit a ruined church called Tintern Abbey. The ruins inspired Wordsworth’s poem “Tintern Abbey,” in which Wordsworth articulated some…
July 14
July 14
Sedition Act becomes federal law
On July 14, 1798, one of the most egregious breaches of the U.S. Constitution in history becomes federal law when Congress passes the Sedition Act, endangering liberty in the fragile…
December 13
December 13
Joseph Walker born in Tennessee
Joseph Reddeford Walker, one of the greatest trailblazing mountain men and the first Anglo‑American to see Yosemite, is born in Tennessee. Although he had little formal education, Walker was an…
