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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 [[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. 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>.

[[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