Alien and Sedition Acts - Revision history

FredJ: add category

2018-09-14T17:37:24Z

add category

DavidB4-bot: clean up

2016-07-23T16:46:00Z

clean up

DavidB4-bot: clean up & uniformity

2016-06-27T06:56:52Z

clean up & uniformity

PeterKa: DR to JR

2015-02-05T05:55:03Z

DR to JR

RJJensen: still the law

2009-11-14T17:11:39Z

still the law

EvanW: Other prosecutions

2009-11-14T17:09:04Z

Other prosecutions

EvanW: Fines repaid

2009-11-14T16:58:45Z

Fines repaid

EvanW: Added info on results

2009-11-14T16:50:16Z

Added info on results

RJJensen: links

2009-11-14T16:41:10Z

links

RJJensen: add

2009-11-14T16:37:03Z

add

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:37, September 14, 2018
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	[[Category:Early National U.S.]]		[[Category:Early National U.S.]]
	[[Category:First Amendment]]		[[Category:First Amendment]]
		+	[[Category:John Adams]]

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 The Sedition Act automatically expired on March 3, 1801, so it did not outlast the Adams administration.  Upon taking office, Thomas Jefferson pardoned everyone convicted under it:
-{{quotebox|I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the sedition law because I considered, and now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image.<ref name="NYT"/>
+{{quotebox|I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the sedition law because I considered, and now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image.<ref name="NYT"/>}}
 Congress repealed the Alien Friends Act.  In 1840, Congress repaid all fines levied under the Sedition Act.<ref name="NYT"/>

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''Alien and Sedition Acts''' (1798) were four separate acts passed by the [[Federalist Party]] controlled [[U.S. Congress]] during [[John Adams]] administration as America prepared for a possible war with [[France]].<ref> http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html</ref> The four measures limited freedom of the press and speech and restricted the activities of aliens, particularly French and Irish revolutionaries. The the acts were in response to the [[Quasi-War]] with France.<ref name="pj">Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/11426/XYZ-Affair.html|title=XYZ Affair|work=Law Library - American Law and Legal Information|accessdate=2007-01-13}}</ref> The acts were an extremely divisive issue between [[Federalist]] and Jefferson's [[Republicans (Jeffersonian)|Republicans]].
+The '''Alien and Sedition Acts''' (1798) were four separate acts passed by the [[Federalist Party]] controlled [[U.S. Congress]] during [[John Adams]] administration as America prepared for a possible war with [[France]].<ref>http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html</ref> The four measures limited freedom of the press and speech and restricted the activities of aliens, particularly French and Irish revolutionaries. The the acts were in response to the [[Quasi-War]] with France.<ref name="pj">Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/11426/XYZ-Affair.html|title=XYZ Affair|work=Law Library - American Law and Legal Information|accessdate=2007-01-13}}</ref> The acts were an extremely divisive issue between [[Federalist]] and Jefferson's [[Republicans (Jeffersonian)|Republicans]].
-The Sedition of Act of 1798 made illegal to criticize the government of the United States under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment. For example, Luther Bladwin, a [[New Jersey]] citizen, was convected for and fined $100 for wishing that a wad from a presidential saluting-cannon hit Adams.  Federalists also used the act against Republicans. In addition to several newspaper editors being imprisoned, Matthew Lyon, a Republican Congressman from Vermont, was fined $1,000 and imprisoned for four months. He ran for re-election from prison and won overwhelmingly.<ref>''America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the Revolutionary Election of 1800''. Bernard A. Weisberger.</ref>.
+The Sedition of Act of 1798 made illegal to criticize the government of the United States under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment. For example, Luther Bladwin, a [[New Jersey]] citizen, was convected for and fined $100 for wishing that a wad from a presidential saluting-cannon hit Adams.  Federalists also used the act against Republicans. In addition to several newspaper editors being imprisoned, Matthew Lyon, a Republican Congressman from Vermont, was fined $1,000 and imprisoned for four months. He ran for re-election from prison and won overwhelmingly.<ref>''America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the Revolutionary Election of 1800''. Bernard A. Weisberger.</ref>
-[[Thomas Jefferson]], and his friend [[James Madison]], secretly authored two resolutions which declared the Alien and Sedition Acts [[unconstitutional]], because they exercised a "power not delegated by the constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by [[First Amendment|one of the amendments thereto]]."<ref>[http://www.constitution.org/rf/vr_1798.htm Full text of the Virginia Resolutions]</ref>  Further, they stated, individual states "have the right and are duty bound to interpose for arresting of the evil."  The [[resolution]] passed through the [[Virginia]] and [[Kentucky]] legislatures and became the first instance of individual states "nullification" of a "unauthorized acts". <ref name="pj" /> The
+[[Thomas Jefferson]], and his friend [[James Madison]], secretly authored two resolutions which declared the Alien and Sedition Acts [[unconstitutional]], because they exercised a "power not delegated by the constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by [[First Amendment|one of the amendments thereto]]."<ref>[http://www.constitution.org/rf/vr_1798.htm Full text of the Virginia Resolutions]</ref>  Further, they stated, individual states "have the right and are duty bound to interpose for arresting of the evil."  The [[resolution]] passed through the [[Virginia]] and [[Kentucky]] legislatures and became the first instance of individual states "nullification" of a "unauthorized acts".<ref name="pj" /> The
 attempt at nullification later inspired the secession of the Confederate states in 1861.
 Because this was before the [[Supreme Court]] established [[judicial review]] in [[Marbury v. Madison]], it did not declare the laws unconstitutional at the time.  However, in [[New York Times v. Sullivan]] (1964), it declared in passing that "the invalidity of the Act has also been assumed by Justices of this Court."<ref name="NYT">[http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0376_0254_ZO.html Full opinion, ''New York Times v. Sullivan'']</ref>
-The Sedition Act automatically expired on March 3rd, 1801, so it did not outlast the Adams administration.  Upon taking office, Thomas Jefferson pardoned everyone convicted under it:
+The Sedition Act automatically expired on March 3, 1801, so it did not outlast the Adams administration.  Upon taking office, Thomas Jefferson pardoned everyone convicted under it:
 {{quotebox|I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the sedition law because I considered, and now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image.<ref name="NYT"/>
-Congress repealed the Alien Friends Act.  In 1840, Congress repaid all fines levied under the Sedition Act<ref name="NYT"/>.
+Congress repealed the Alien Friends Act.  In 1840, Congress repaid all fines levied under the Sedition Act.<ref name="NYT"/>
 The Alien Enemies Act is still the law of the land and allows the president in time of war to seize and hold enemy aliens.
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 *[http://www.constitution.org/rf/kr_1798.htm Text of the Kentucky Resolutions]
 <references/>
-[[Category: Early National U.S.]]
+[[Category:Early National U.S.]]
 [[Category:First Amendment]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''Alien and Sedition Acts''' (1798) were four separate acts passed by the [[Federalist Party]] controlled [[U.S. Congress]] during [[John Adams]] administration as America prepared for a possible war with [[France]]. <ref> http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html</ref> The four measures limited freedom of the press and speech and restricted the activities of aliens, particularly French and Irish revolutionaries. The the acts were in response to the [[Quasi-War]] with France.<ref name="pj">Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/11426/XYZ-Affair.html|title=XYZ Affair|work=Law Library - American Law and Legal Information|accessdate=2007-01-13}}</ref> The acts were an extremely divisive issue between [[Federalist]] and Jefferson's [[Democratic-Republican Party|Republican Party]].
+The '''Alien and Sedition Acts''' (1798) were four separate acts passed by the [[Federalist Party]] controlled [[U.S. Congress]] during [[John Adams]] administration as America prepared for a possible war with [[France]].<ref> http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html</ref> The four measures limited freedom of the press and speech and restricted the activities of aliens, particularly French and Irish revolutionaries. The the acts were in response to the [[Quasi-War]] with France.<ref name="pj">Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/11426/XYZ-Affair.html|title=XYZ Affair|work=Law Library - American Law and Legal Information|accessdate=2007-01-13}}</ref> The acts were an extremely divisive issue between [[Federalist]] and Jefferson's [[Republicans (Jeffersonian)|Republicans]].
-The Sedition of Act of 1798 made illegal to criticize the government of the United States under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment. For example, Luther Bladwin, a [[New Jersey]] citizen, was convected for and fined $100 for wishing that a wad from a presidential saluting-cannon hit Adams.  Federalists also used the act against [[Democratic-Republican Party|Republicans]].  In addition to several newspaper editors being imprisoned, Matthew Lyon, a Republican Congressman from Vermont, was fined $1,000 and imprisoned for four months.  He ran for re-election from prison and won overwhelmingly<ref>''America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the Revolutionary Election of 1800''. Bernard A. Weisberger</ref>.
+The Sedition of Act of 1798 made illegal to criticize the government of the United States under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment. For example, Luther Bladwin, a [[New Jersey]] citizen, was convected for and fined $100 for wishing that a wad from a presidential saluting-cannon hit Adams.  Federalists also used the act against Republicans. In addition to several newspaper editors being imprisoned, Matthew Lyon, a Republican Congressman from Vermont, was fined $1,000 and imprisoned for four months. He ran for re-election from prison and won overwhelmingly.<ref>''America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the Revolutionary Election of 1800''. Bernard A. Weisberger.</ref>.
-[[Thomas Jefferson]], and his friend [[James Madison]], secretly authored two resolutions which declared the Alien and Sedition Acts [[unconstitutional]], because they exercised a "power not delegated by the constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by [[First Amendment|one of the amendments thereto]]"<ref>[http://www.constitution.org/rf/vr_1798.htm Full text of the Virginia Resolutions]</ref>.  Further, they stated, individual states "have the right and are duty bound to interpose for arresting of the evil."  The [[resolution]] passed through the [[Virginia]] and [[Kentucky]] legislatures and became the first instance of individual states "nullification" of a "unauthorized acts". <ref name="pj" /> The
+[[Thomas Jefferson]], and his friend [[James Madison]], secretly authored two resolutions which declared the Alien and Sedition Acts [[unconstitutional]], because they exercised a "power not delegated by the constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by [[First Amendment|one of the amendments thereto]]."<ref>[http://www.constitution.org/rf/vr_1798.htm Full text of the Virginia Resolutions]</ref>  Further, they stated, individual states "have the right and are duty bound to interpose for arresting of the evil."  The [[resolution]] passed through the [[Virginia]] and [[Kentucky]] legislatures and became the first instance of individual states "nullification" of a "unauthorized acts". <ref name="pj" /> The
 attempt at nullification later inspired the secession of the Confederate states in 1861.
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 The Sedition Act automatically expired on March 3rd, 1801, so it did not outlast the Adams administration.  Upon taking office, Thomas Jefferson pardoned everyone convicted under it:
 {{quotebox|I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the sedition law because I considered, and now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image.<ref name="NYT"/>
 Congress repealed the Alien Friends Act.  In 1840, Congress repaid all fines levied under the Sedition Act<ref name="NYT"/>.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 The Sedition Act automatically expired on March 3rd, 1801, so it did not outlast the Adams administration.  Upon taking office, Thomas Jefferson pardoned everyone convicted under it:
-{{quotebox|I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the sedition law because I considered, and now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image.<ref name="NYT"/>}}
+{{quotebox|I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the sedition law because I considered, and now consider, that law to be a nullity, as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image.<ref name="NYT"/>
 ==References==
 *[http://www.constitution.org/rf/sedition_1798.htm Text of the Sedition Act]

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:41, November 14, 2009
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	The '''Alien and Sedition Acts''' (1798) were four separate acts passed by the [[Federalist]] controlled [[U.S. Congress]] during [[John Adams]] administration as America prepared for a possible war with [[France]]. <ref> http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html</ref> The four measures limited freedom of the [[press]] and speech and restricted the activities of aliens, particularly [[French]] and [[Irish~~]] as~~ the acts were in response to the [[~~XYZ Affair~~]].<ref name="pj">Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/11426/XYZ-Affair.html\|title=XYZ Affair\|work=Law Library - American Law and Legal Information\|accessdate=2007-01-13}}</ref> The acts were an extremely divisive issue between [[Federalist]] and Jefferson's [[Democratic Republican Party:Republican Party]].	+	The '''Alien and Sedition Acts''' (1798) were four separate acts passed by the [[Federalist Party]] controlled [[U.S. Congress]] during [[John Adams]] administration as America prepared for a possible war with [[France]]. <ref> http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html</ref> The four measures limited freedom of the press and speech and restricted the activities of aliens, particularly French and Irish revolutionaries. The the acts were in response to the [[Quasi-War]] with France.<ref name="pj">Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/11426/XYZ-Affair.html\|title=XYZ Affair\|work=Law Library - American Law and Legal Information\|accessdate=2007-01-13}}</ref> The acts were an extremely divisive issue between [[Federalist]] and Jefferson's [[Democratic-Republican Party\|Republican Party]].

	The Sedition of Act of 1798 made illegal to criticize the government of the United States under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment. In an early instance of the acts usage, Luther Bladwin, a [[New Jersey]] citizen, was convected for and fined $100 for wishing that a wad from a presidential saluting-cannon hit Adams.		The Sedition of Act of 1798 made illegal to criticize the government of the United States under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment. In an early instance of the acts usage, Luther Bladwin, a [[New Jersey]] citizen, was convected for and fined $100 for wishing that a wad from a presidential saluting-cannon hit Adams.