Alien and Sedition Acts
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. [1] 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.[2][3] The acts were an extremely divisive issue between Federalist and the Democrat-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 the most 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.
Thomas Jefferson, and his friend James Madison, authored a resolution which declared the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional, because 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". [4]
References
- ↑ http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alien.html
- ↑ Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240
- ↑ XYZ Affair. Law Library - American Law and Legal Information. Retrieved on 2007-01-13.
- ↑ Paul Johnson, A History of the American People, page. 240
