Alien And Sedition Acts Violated Citizens ' Rights

The presidency of George Washington was a difficult pair of terms to follow. John Adams tried to follow the precedent that the first president had set, but the second president only managed to polarize the nation among two parties: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Although his decisions are today looked at with mixed feelings, at the time John Adams fell into popular disfavor. After his singular term due to the opposition of the Jeffersonian Anti-Federalists and the Hamiltonian Federalists (members of Adams’s own party), there was a power vacancy clearly waiting to be filled which would lead to the spot of the third President of the United States. The first twelve years of the nation and its first two presidents had been marred by stirrings of factionalism and tension. However, the two presidents after Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, would do much to lessen these issues due to educated and intelligent policy-making, in addition to a great deal of fortunate circumstances.

Also, when Jefferson passed The Embargo Act, he was going against the Republican Party beliefs. Supported by Document C, the Embargo Act was a great upset to the American public. No where in the listing of the presidential powers did it state that a law such as the Embargo Act could be passed. When Jefferson passed this Act, he may have had the good of the country at heart, but he was following the Federalist principle of power in the central government and a loose interpretation of the powers in the Constitution. As the Jeffersonian Republicans grew together and learned a great deal more about their nation, they realized that some of their principles had to change. The country would never stay united if the country kept advancing and the government stayed in the same spot. As Jefferson once wrote, “…I know also, that laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind…institutions must advance also and keep pace with the times.” (Document G). Jefferson realized in this letter to Samuel Kercheval that, sometimes, people’s ideas and beliefs must grow and change in order to make things better and stay with the times. The Jeffersonian Republicans also realized this. That is why as the nation progressed they obtained more of the ideals of the Federalists.

In 1789 George Washington was elected as the First President of the United States of America under the Constitution. In the following years after George Washington's administration was John Adams and succeeding him was the Third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's' administrations contributed to establishing a stable government after the adoption of the Constitution. They strengthened the national government by passing important legislature, peaceful international affairs and economic plans.

In the late 1700's, John Adams was President. Adams was a member of the Federalist Party. The Federalists were in control of the Congress. Adams and other Federalists were Pro-British and the Republican Party was Pro-French. Thomas Jefferson led the Republicans. Federalists were worried that the influx of French into the country

By 1817 the great American experiment was in full swing. America was developing into an effective democratic nation. However as the democracy continued to grow, two opposing political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalists saw it differently. They opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. The seemingly solid divide between Federalist and Republican would begin to blur during the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. For, neither Republican president was able lead

The issues surrounding the rift between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were caused by their presidential campaigns for the election of 1796. Jefferson strongly opposed Adams’ favor of a strong centralized government and Adams was furious by Jefferson’s public comments. Adams believed Jefferson’s support for France was dangerous and the two never communicated politically. The rift reflected the growing divide amongst the revolutionary generation because Adams was a Federalist and Jefferson was a Republican. The Federalists organized a propaganda campaign against the Republicans after they realized that Madison was actively campaigning for Jefferson. The rift further reflected divide amongst the revolutionary generation when Adams won the election

Signed into law by President John Adams in 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress as America prepared for war with France. These acts increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from five to fourteen years, authorized the president to imprison or deport aliens considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" and restricted speech critical of the government. These laws were designed to silence and weaken the Democratic-Republican Party. Negative reaction to the Alien and Sedition Acts helped contribute to the Democratic-Republican victory in the 1800 elections. Congress repealed the Naturalization Act in 1802, while the other acts were allowed to expire.

On July 14, 1798, John Adams, putting them into effect, signed The Alien and Sedition

When Washington retired from his presidency, non-stop issues arose between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson about government policies, economic policies, and foreign policies that led to the creation of political parties. The First Party System started in 1790s and ended in early 1800s. The Federalist Party led by Hamilton and John Adams and the Democratic-Republican Party led by Jefferson and James Madison. Hamilton and Jefferson had different political views, but both wanted what was best for the country.

Conflicting views and contrasting ideologies have always existed throughout the history of United States politics. Alexander Hamilton, who led Federalist Party, believed that a powerful central government was necessary while Thomas Jefferson, who led the Jeffersonian Republican Party, favored an agrarian nation with most of the power left to the states. Although Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were similar in that they both harbored good intentions and tried to keep the best interests in mind for the future of the United States, their policies were drastically different. Without doubt, both of their contrasting ideas served a vital role in forming the government.

Whenever Jefferson and John Adams pursued the organization in 1796, political gatherings had encircled under the imprints Republicans and Federalists. By 1804 the presence of political social events required an amendment that changed the option to allow president/VP tickets on the count. The Federalists overpowered the national government through most of the eighteenth century. Despite President Washington's attempts at unity, political differences wound up being unreasonably significant making it impossible to convey understanding. The Republican Party rose in power and made limitations to Federalist game plans, regardless of Jefferson's confirmations in his first inaugural address that Americans were all republicans and all federalists.

The Federalists and Republicans became the first political parties in the United States in the election of 1796. The Federalists and the Republicans clashed an array of times throughout the early national period, over issues relating to the future of the United States. The Federalist Party consisted of Alexander Hamilton and his supports, and favored a commercial economy and strong central government. The Republican Party was led by Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, they were in favor of an agrarian economy and states’ rights. The problems prevalent in the United States led to each parties supporters to take varying positions on these issues.

Jefferson and supporter James Madison wanted international independence which would evolve through its own expansion in the western part of North America. This naturally meant good relations with France, since they were Britain’s biggest enemy. Hamilton also believed in a Bank of the United States but was opposed by Jefferson and Madison. The faction sharing the beliefs of Jefferson and Madison became known as the Democratic Republican Party.

Madison and Jefferson then seized on widespread public sympathy for France's expansive, revolutionary exploits to promote republican sentiment in the United States. Madison bitterly opposed Jay's Treaty, feeling that it made the United States dependent on England and in fact tied America to the corrupt power-politics diplomacy of the Old World. With the final ratification of Jay's Treaty, Madison felt that a commercial junta that cared very little for the republican character of the nation had gained control. The war-like attitude toward France of President John Adams,' administration alarmed Madison. The XYZ AFFAIR brought the United States and France close to war. During the continiuous turmoil in the United States, the

In 1790, the United States had just recently broke free from the British crown and united under the cause of liberty. But in spite of this, Americans saw political rifts brought about by the rise of political parties. The rise of political parties in 1790 was caused by general distrust, disagreements on policies, and constitutional disagreements between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, which were led by Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, respectively.