Conclusion

The previous actions, trials, and writings of Matthew Lyon, Thomas Cooper, and James Callendar made them effective martyrs of the Sedition Act, especially in their defenses of the First Amendment. These trials and their defendants' martyrdom strengthened the First Amendment, due to their influential nature in the American political landscape. These trials and their defendants had a major impact on the political parties, and most importantly the American people who followed these trials. Prior to Judicial Review, James Madison believed that constitutional arguments should be left up to the people to decide, and in following these trials and taking action they did.¹ The political martyrdom of these three Sedition trial defendants influenced the constitutional argument. 

¹ Dry, “The Origins and Foundations of the First Amendment and the Alien and Sedition Acts.”, 143