Alien and Sedition Acts Essay

Submitted By katehoward

Words: 346

Pages: 2

Open Document

The Alien and Sedition acts were four different acts grouped together, out of the four, three of the acts pertained to immigrants. These acts were considered the least controversial. President John Adams had signed the acts after being angered by the XYZ affair, a diplomatic episode between France and America that resulted in the Qusia-war. Those three acts were there to remind naturalized citizens (citizens born in a foreign country but obtained full citizenship) that the government could “imprison or deport [them if they] stepped out of line”. These acts denied immigrants the promises that America strongly upheld of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and changed the time foreigners had to wait till they could become citizens from five years to fourteen years. This upset Republicans since many naturalized citizens would join the Republican Party once they were eligible for their citizenship. The Republicans would then complain that it violated the constitution only to be over powered by the Federalist.
The Sedition acts made it illegal to portray the government in a negative manner. The Federalist held the most power in the government at the time and directed this act at the Republicans, many whom were of foreign descent, and would speak critically of the government in the articles, or newspapers they wrote. This was considered the most controversial of the four acts. Under the new law anyone who "[wrote], [printed], [uttered], or [published] . . . any false,

Alien And Sedition Acts

The Alien and Sedition Acts created controversy over their constitutionality, lawfulness, and justification between the two political parties in the United States. Both the Federalist Party and Democratic - Republican Party argued and attempted to defend their beliefs and opinions towards the Acts. The Federalists countered the Democratic- Republicans arguments over the Acts constitutionality, but ultimately they failed due to lack of popularity and approval. In response to the Acts, the Virginia…

Words 407 - Pages 2

Alien And Sedition Acts DBQ

In this essay the Alien and Sedition Acts were proven constitutional by evidence supporting it. The people who supported it were professional legislators of Massachusetts and other professional people that knew what they were talking about. The Alien and Sedition Acts were just set up to defend the nation against bad, they were not assigned to limit people's freedoms. Once again, the Alien and Sedition Acts were constitutional.…

Words 68 - Pages 1

Dbq Alien And Sedition Act

The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws that Congress passed in 1798. They were introduced by the Federalists in hopes of making the American government stronger during the Quasi-War and in fear of French sympathizers. The Alien and Sedition Acts were made of the Aliens Enemies Act, the Alien Friends Act, the Naturalization Act, and the Sedition Act. The Alien Enemies Act described the processes that were used to determine if an immigrant from a currently hostile country was a threat to the safety…

Words 389 - Pages 2

Alien And Sedition Acts Dbq

The Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts because they wanted to limit the power of those who opposes, also known as the Republican Party. The Federalists justified the enactment of the Alien and Sedition Acts because it was in preparation of the French War. They believed it would help having more Federal government, especially during the time of war. The Sedition Act was unconstitutional. The Sedition Act violated the constitution’s first Amendment. This meant citizens had no freedom of…

Words 309 - Pages 2

Essay about The Alien & Sedition Act

Date: 2/14/14 The Alien & Sedition Acts In the 1790s; there were vast differences between the Democratic-Republicans. During June and July, 1798, Congress passed four bills, these were known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These Acts granted the federal government extensive powers to deal with internal subversion. The Alien Act (1) “required a fourteen-year residency period for aliens prior to naturalization as a citizen”, (2) it “gave the president power to deport “all such aliens as he shall judge…

Words 599 - Pages 3

Compare And Contrast The Alien And Sedition And Alien Acts

The Alien and Sedition Acts were about European aliens who came to America to support ideals of the French Revolution.Some of the Americans living there questioned whether or not the aliens would turn on them if America had gone to war with France. Therefor a law was passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798 that was signed by President John Adams. The law included new powers to to deport immigrants and making it difficult for them to…

Words 78 - Pages 1

Alien And Sedition Acts Pros And Cons

The Alien and Sedition Acts were very controversial. Many Americans believed the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. These acts were created by the Federalists Party to limit the power of the Republican Party. The Acts were passed by Congress in 1798 and signed by the President, John Adams, in preparation for the war with France. The Alien Acts included three bills that all supported the Federalist Party. The first act passed was the Naturalization Act. This act lengthened the time…

Words 428 - Pages 2

Compare And Contrast The Alien And Sedition Act

1) Why would people consider the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional? The Alien and Sedition Acts were considered unconstitutional by the people because it backfired against the freedom they fought for in the Bill of Rights. In the Alien Act, the idea of the President having the right to deport people he considered dangerous to the nation already took a lot of the citizens' freedom. Then later, the Sedition Act placed heavy fines and prison terms on any person guilty of "combining and conspiring…

Words 155 - Pages 1

Compare And Contrast Alien And Sedition Act

Also, The Alien and Sedition Act is a law proposed for Federalists in the Congress, four laws to protect America from foreign and domestic subversion. Which The Alien Acts, which included three first separate laws, the Alien laws, dealt with immigration and naturalization. The Sedition Act criminalized criticism of the federal government. “The Alien and Sedition Acts were four related laws, passed in the space of a month. The first, approved by Congress on June 18, 1798, was "An Act to Establish…

Words 237 - Pages 1

Rhetorical Analysis: The Alien And Sedition Act

When the Alien and Sedition Act was passed, it caused many conflicts in America. Both argument gives powerful persuasions as to why they believe what they think is right by including the powerful use of rhetorical devices, strategies, tone, and their use of language to prove their side. Timothy Pickering Upholds the Repressive Laws believes the Alien and Sedition Act is constitutional whereas The Virginia Legislature Protests believes it’s unconstitutional. Using powerful rhetorical devices/strategies…

Words 589 - Pages 3