Alien And Sedition Acts Essay

These acts increased the time required for a person to become a citizen from 5 years in the nation to 14 years. Next, the Alien act which allowed the President to either imprison or deport any “alien” whom he deemed to be a danger to our national security. This sounds familiar doesn’t it, well that is because it is exactly like the Patriot Act that was passed right after September 11, 2001. Than following the passing of these laws and the XYZ affair, America almost went to war with France which prompted the Adam’s administration to raise taxes. During Washington’s administration, we see that only out of necessity were taxes raised so that the country would not drown in red ink like we are today. Adam’s increased taxes by enacting a new stamp tax and a house tax. These new taxes brought a great deal of unrest among the people because they believe that the taxes were being used to create a standing army, not to send them overseas to France. This brought about a revolt in Pennsylvania where the leaders were arrested and tried for treason.

Madison saw this as being treasonous and tried to have it repealed, but he was facing George Washington, who was the most respected person in the US at the time.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.

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.

Elliot's Debates contains a section on the response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, including the text of the Virginia Resolution, responses to the Virginia Resolution from other states, the Kentucky Resolution, and James Madison's report on the Virginia Resolution.

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 Americans have known the "Bribery" that the XYZ agents have brought, and they reacted to the XYZ with a shock and anger. Realized that President Adams was too weak politically and could not suited for the President job; The Republican newspaper heaped abuse on Adams as " a person without patriotism, without philosophy, and a mock monarch". With the temper so dangerously high and fears that political dissent was perhaps akin to treason, the Federalist leader moved to muffle the opposition. In mid 1798, Congress hammered out the Sedition Act; the Sedition Act made conspiracy and revolt are illegal, however, the Sedition Act also prohibited the right to speak or writing anything that defamed the president or Congress which is considered the citizen as

In 1798, President John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts containing three parts: the Alien, Sedition, and Naturalization Acts. The Alien Act allowed the president to deport any immigrant that he found dangerous to the nation; the Sedition Act made it a crime to criticize the government; and the Naturalization Act lengthened the citizenship process. These acts were repealed by 1802 due to their negative impacts and influences on society. The Alien and Sedition Acts left an impact on the nation through the deprivation of American rights—such as the first amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of press— leading to protests that rocked the nation. These policies created a gap between the government and the people, destroying

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

With the United States and France on the brink of war, the mostly Federalist congress passed four laws known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. With these acts the years of residency increased from five to fourteen years. The acts also gave the authority to deport and imprison aliens if the war broke out. The Sedition Act alone made it illegal to print, speak and publish any negative things about the government. Many feel these laws were used against an imposing party the Democratic- Republicans, whom many new citizens favored in office.

American citizens were not pleased with the fact their rights were being violated. The Sedition Acts made it illegal for newspaper editors to criticize the government. The government imposed punishments for editors who violated this law. This act violated the freedom of the press, which is under the First Amendment. Stated in Document F, “the liberty of conscience and the press cannot be canceled, abridged, restrained, or modified by any authority of the United States.” By even appointing these acts, it meant the federal government was exercising a power that was never given to them in the first place. Document F states, “Alien and Seditions Acts, passed at the last session of Congress; the first of which exercises a power nowhere delegated to the federal government”. The administration’s foreign policy was not protecting Americans, rather violating their

If I were a Supreme Court Justice during the 1800's, I would interpret that Congress intended to incorporate the Bill of Rights into privileges of national citizenship. The Bill of Rights gave citizens their civil rights and helped restrict the control of the federal government. It did not apply to states at first, but most of the State constitutions included parts of the Bill of Right and were not required to. The bill outlines multiple rights such as right to freedom of speech, religion practice along with many other issues addressed. The Bill of Rights became some of the initial documents that pronounced distinct things the Government cannot control regarding the rights of citizens. Majority of government documents leading up to the Bill

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.

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.

If this act is confusing please go to the introduction the definition is there on what the Sedition Act is. Like before the law is under the Espionage Act. The reason is different though, but they are still the same in a way. Most people will think that these two acts should be combined. This Act was harsh, because people would get punished if they talked bad about the country or conspire.The punishment is a fine of $5000 and jail time for 6 months to -5 years. If it was in writing the fine would be $2000 and jail time not exceeding 2 years.This was in the 1918’s. So it was harsh, because the government did not want a bad