The Dreyfus Affair was a political and criminal justice scandal in France that went from 1894 to 1906. French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus, of Jewish descent, was convicted of treason in 1894 and sentenced to life in prison. In 1896, evidence arose that a French Army major named Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy was the one responsible for Dreyfus’ alleged crimes. Dreyfus was not granted another trial until 1899, and the second trial divided French society between pro-Republican and anticlerical supporters of Dreyfus, and a pro-Army, mostly Catholic group who maintained he was guilty. The fascination with the case traveled to the United States, which covered the scandal in numerous newspapers over the years. Dreyfus was ultimately exonerated in 1906 and he was reinstated to the French army, but his case remained a notable example of antisemitism in the criminal justice system, showing how the press and public opinion can potentially manipulate a criminal case. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.

The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.