The Take Notice poster of 1799 was a widely circulated American broadside warning citizens of the perceived threat posed by secret societies—particularly the Illuminati—amid fears sparked by the French Revolution. Emerging during the Federalist era under President John Adams, the poster echoed sermons and pamphlets by figures such as Reverend Jedidiah Morse, who argued that foreign radical philosophies threatened religion, morality, and republican government in the young United States. Blending political anxiety with religious caution, Take Notice reflects the era’s deep unease over subversion, foreign influence, and the fragility of the new American republic.
