As A Man Thinketh

Originally Aired: January 15, 1941 Cavalcade of America #209, "As A Man Thinketh," stars Claude Rains as Thomas Cooper, an English immigrant and friend of Vice President Thomas Jefferson who faces a crucial test of American liberty. When Congress passes the Sedition Act of 1798, making it illegal to publish criticism of the government deemed false or scandalous, Cooper is outraged. Despite the warnings of his concerned wife Alice and the cautious Judge Byers, Cooper sees the law as a direct assault on the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. In a passionate discussion with Jefferson, Cooper learns that fear has driven those in power to abandon reason and suppress democratic ideals. Determined to defend liberty before it becomes merely a sham in America, Cooper resolves to make a test case of the Sedition Act, even though challenging it could mean a two-year prison sentence. He plans to criticize President Adams' political mistakes based on the President's own speeches, proving his opinions with facts. As Cooper tells his wife, he cannot be otherwise than he is: as a man thinks, so is he. The episode dramatizes one man's willingness to sacrifice everything to preserve freedom of speech and press for all Americans.