Alien And Sedition Acts DBQ

Madison saw this as being treasonous and tried to have it repealed, but he was facing George Washington, who was the most respected person in the US at the time. Finally in the Sedition Act which was signed in by President John Adams, it was aimed at silencing editors who openly talked bad about the government. It was greatly opposed by most Republicans and greatly supported by Federalists. Later, as it was put into motion it actually backfired, with many immigrants and former Federalists defecting to the Republicans. All these things were issues that were debated by the founding brothers, but their voices are what also made them significant.

Government censorship continued with the passing of the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Amendment in 1918. The Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment condemned any antiwar activity or desecrating of the government, Constitution, flag, or military. The American public could not have an opinion, unless that opinion supported the war and government. Even Wilson stated, "Woe be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way." Government censorship and “unpatriotic acts”, as deemed by the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment, gave birth to a suspicious nation.

This went directly against the Declaration of Rights law that stated “The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law”  He also helped relations achieve positions of power in Europe, ignoring the principles of the meritocracy which he had earlier instilled.

The main reason for this legislation was to keep the United States isolated from the rest of the world, which many Americans believed would keep us safe from an attack on America. Americans were so afraid of a threat to the country, the United States disregarded one of its most beloved Amendments of the Constitution, the First which gives citizens the freedom of speech.

In the year of 1800, Jefferson ran for the second time averse to former president, John Adams but unlike the previous election, John Adams wins the presidency, Jefferson was able to defeat John Adams. The Adams lost the election due to passing the Alien and Sedition Acts, Considered unconstitutional laws because the Acts took away the first amendment, freedom of speech. Jefferson was a more promising choice as he promised to have a “Republican Revolution”, Jefferson promised to help the yeoman farmer and decrease the Federal debt the United States had at the time period. Jefferson’s presidency was to a certain extent a “Republican Revolution” and to a certain extent it was a Federalist Continuation.

The 1780’s and 1790’s were a time of growing contentions in America, and were capped off with the creation of the Alien and Sedition acts. The Alien and Sedition acts included four laws that made it extremely difficult to be an immigrant in the United States. These laws allowed the president to deport any immigrant he deemed dangerous or suspicious, allowed the government to remove immigrants in time of war and also required that any immigrant live in the US for fourteen years before they could be given citizenship. The fourth act infringed on the right to free speech, which is a fundamental right given by the constitution, by prohibiting any conspiracy or “scandalous and malicious” writings against the United States government. The four acts were the government’s response to the growing issues in the America. These issues included the division of the government into political parties, the American people’s growing distrust of foreign nations, and the distrust between people within America.

The Alien Act allowed the president to remove anyone he thought to be dangerous or harmful to the country’s well being from the country. The Sedition Act banned all criticizing of the United States government in any way shape or form. Both acts violate the constitution in multiple ways. The Alien and Sedition Acts were created to filter and clean out the “bad” people from the young and growing country, and to keep the government clean. Innocent people were being removed from the country because he or she was thought to be dangerous. Only one side of the government was being seen. There was no contrast or comparison in our government of the people. When people started to realize that these acts were unconstitutional they began to rebel to protect themselves.

The first amendment states that Congress can not make laws limiting, “The freedom of speech or of the press.” If any person spreads lies or damages people’s reputation with false statements or writings against the United States government; they would have to be convicted before a court and punished by imprisonment for no more than two years and by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars. This opposes the Constitution because it limits freedom of speech and of the press. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press does have some limits to “freedom,” but this act goes too far and violates the Constitution.

The Sedition Act was approved by Congress on July 14, 1798. It differed from the Alien Act; the Alien Act affected all United States citizens and not only the aliens. The Alien Act was also clearer that if a person is being convicted of any crime against the United States. Furthermore, the Sedition Act was designed to protect the Federalist and the President from “false” and “malicious” statements with the power of speaking. It didn’t protect the Vice President Thomas Jefferson or the Republicans. The act stated in Section 1 of the Sedition Act, “to impede the operation of any law of the United States, or to intimidate or prevent any person holding a place or office in or under the government of the United States, from undertaking, performing or executing his trust or duty, and if any person or persons, with intent as aforesaid, shall counsel, advise or attempt to procure any insurrection, riot, unlawful assembly, or combination, whether such conspiracy, threatening, counsel, advice, or attempt shall have

The act was supposed to stop the growth of the Democratic Republicans faction. The act targeted control over immigrants, due to the fact that they would most likely be a Democratic Republican. The Federalists did not want the Democratic Republicans to gain more followers, and have more power. The act also gave the president authority to deport any alien he deemed dangerous to the nation. The Marbury VS Madison case was another incident where the parties were trying to prove their power over the each other. President Thomas Jefferson denied a job to William Marbury for the justice of peace. Marbury had been elected in to office by John Adams when he was president. Thomas Jefferson did not want Marbury because he was a federalist. The case went to the supreme court. The supreme court sided with Marbury and gave him the job. At this time, it was also decided that the “the Supreme Court’s (has the) power to determine the constitutionality of laws established” . Lastly, the Hartford Convention was a meeting from 1814-1816. The Federalists meeting addressed the “disloyalty” seen in their party during the War of 1812. After this, the downfall of the Federalist party started. With the Hartford Convention starting the downfall of the Federalist Party, the Democratic Republicans became the more powerful party. Ultimately, by eliminating the Federalist party, America was able to conquer the political struggles and try to unify the government. Though the political struggles were not addressed in the most productive way, America addressed the foreign relationships in a positive way by treaties and

The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson highlight key points in both resolutions that were key to what each document did. This document is not the original Virginia and Kentucky resolution, but it contains the information from the original document. The document was written in secret by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, but the two collaborated in secret while writing it, this was a response to the Alien and Sedition Acts put into place by Congress in 1798. It comes from the perspective of the high-class elite but with the support of the lesser or more “ordinary”

Government censorship continued with the passing of the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Amendment in 1918. The Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment condemned any antiwar activity or desecrating of the government, Constitution, flag, or military. The American public were almost at a point where they could not have an opinion, unless in support of the war and government. Even Wilson stated, "Woe be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way." These acts of censorship gave birth to a suspicious nation.

In the book Freedom for the Thought that we Hate, author Anthony Lewis takes a simply phrased law, the First Amendment and shows how complex freedom of speech really is once put into the real world of freedom, as we know it. He shows through his rejections of absolutism, strong support towards freedom restriction, and objective analysis of Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, that the United States press is unlike any other in the world.

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 “forbade false, scandalous, and malicious publications against the U.S. government, congress, and the President” (Pembert & Calvert, 2011, p. 48). The law was used to punish those who sought to cause problems and urged resistance to the government. There were 15 prosecutions under this law, many of which belonged to leading papers in the nation at that time. This law was overturned in 1801 and President Jefferson pardoned all those convicted under this law. Today people are allowed to criticize the government and publicly hold views that do not go along with the government or the current administration with little to no prosecution.

Another notable piece of evidence of Hamilton’s involvement in getting these infamous laws to the president’s signing is his response to a fellow politician’s letter regarding the topic of the Alien and Sedition Acts, further driving the point home that perhaps Adams isn’t the one who deserves full responsibility for these disgusting laws being passed,  “Hamilton’s surviving reply signaled his specific approval of the immigration measure, ‘I agree that the President ought to have the power to send out of the country suspected foreigners,’ he answered Dayton, noting only that the law should provide an exception for ‘merchants who have six months by Treaty.’ Hamilton further consented that ‘the suspension of the naturalization act will also be prudent’-a reference to the existing five-year residency requirement that the Federalists wished to extend to fourteen years. ‘I always wished that our naturalization acts had been distinguished between the right to hold property and political privileges,’ he added,” (Magness, 12). This to me is undeniable proof that Hamilton indefinitely supported these acts, and that he is the exact opposite of what a symbol for equality and justice should be in this day and age.