Alien And Sedition Acts Essay

3) What are the differences between the XYZ Affair, Quasi-War, Alien, and the Sedition Act? The XYZ Affair represents three demands that John Adams made, American government needed to apologize publicly towards the France which stands for the X demand. As for Y, the France had requested a loan from the United States and therefore the United States would have to grant the loan, last for the Z, it represents the Americans would need to pay an amount of two hundred thousand dollars to the French. The Quasi-War is a war between the France and United states in the year of 1797 through 1800.

“By the last years of the 1790s, the prospect of war with France and Federalist security measures such as the Alien and Sedition Acts brought the nation to the brink of political upheaval” (Nash, p. 214-215). The acts were controversial and leads into a political debate. The Kentucky assembly stated that the acts violated the Bill of Rights. They wanted to get rid of Federal laws, however, this was not the first time they have done this action. People believed that the acts were unconstitutional and unfair.

As immigrants we had be American citizen for at least 5 years before being able to oppose a position. Under the Sedition Act, even the rights of American

The Alien and sedition act was four bills that the Federalist passed in 1798 in preparation for an expected war with France. The four bills were: Alien Enemies Act, Alien Friends Act, Naturalization Act, Sedition Act. The Alien Enemies act stated that any citizen from foreign country that posed a threat to national security, if found guilty will be deported or detained. The Alien Friends allowed the president to deport any citizen of any foreign nation who he decided posed a threat to the nation while inside its borders. The law allowed the president to expel citizens without proof of guilt.

He created the Alien & Sedition Acts which truly made the United States become a more secure country. The Alien Acts’ purpose is to protect the citizens from the aliens (immigrants or people who moved to the United States) and the Sedition Act is created to protect the government from slanders. Timothy Pickering had declared that: “...Because we have the right to speak and publish our opinions...we may exercise it in uttering falsehoods and calicious (mean) slanders.” The government has the right to express their opinions, so, naturally, the citizens should have a say as well. However, there is a difference between the freedom of speech and slander.

In 1798 America believed that it was going to fight a war against France due to increased hostilities between the two nations. Meanwhile, America was also divided into two political groups, the Jeffersonian Republicans, and the Federalists. European immigrants often became pro-Jeffersonians because the group was more welcoming than the aristocratic Federalists who discriminated against poor immigrants. In 1798, the Federal Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts and presented them as laws meaning to protect the United States from threatening foreigners during the imminent war with France but the acts really intended to weaken the Jeffersonian Republicans. These acts were not only dishonestly introduced but also violated Americans’

This could be done during war or peace time. The Sedition Act severely restricted freedom of speech and of the press. People who printed or helped print or disseminate written material against the government, congress or the president could be prosecuted. People who spoke against these entities could also be prosecuted even if it was just their opinion. Madison realized that freedom-loving people can easily be persuaded to voluntarily part with liberties they would otherwise consider indispensable when they feared foreign attacks or war (Watkins).

In the summer of 1798, Congress decided to pass the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were four bills that limited the rights of foreigners who lived in the United States. The first act declared that the president could deport, or hold captive, those living in the United States if the states were at war with the home country of the immigrant; this was known as the Alien Enemies Law. This takes away the person's right to freedom because they were judged on the state of their country. Much like the first act, the second act allowed the president to “expel” an immigrant, however Congress limited this expulsion to two years maximum; this act was beyond unfair to the people who could be deported because it did not give them the right to defend themselves

Primary Document Analysis: Alien and Sedition Acts Along with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions The Alien and Sedition Acts were signed by then-President John Adams on June 18, 1798, roughly eleven years after the signing of the current U.S. Constitution. It was done during a time of heightened tensions between the United States and European countries. These four new laws were designed to give new powers to the President regarding immigrants, also known as aliens.

The Alien and Sedition Acts passed four laws empowered the president to deport any foreigners who were suspected to be a threat to the security of the nation. The Federalists justified for the Alien and Sedition Acts, claiming that it was indispensable because the nation was on the brink of war, however, the true reason that they passed the Alien and Sedition Acts was to make sure Adams defeat Jefferson in the election (at that time people favored the Republican Party). The Republicans considered it to be unconstitutional because of its violation of the First Amendment and the freedom of speech. However, the Federalists justified that it was indispensable to stifle criticism of the government in time of war because if Americans lost their confidence

Congress showed political divide during John Adams term in office because, during his term, Congress made the Alien and Sedition Acts that were meant to help immigrant become citizens with right to vote within 5 to 14 years, and the Sedition Act was made to stop rebellion against the government, but Republicans felt like their party was being attacked due to most immigrants voting for Republicans and the Sedition Act was just punishing Republican newspaper editors who insulted Adams. According to History Alive, "Since most immigrants voted Republican, Jefferson saw this law as an attack on his party...and the Sedition Act was used to punish Republican newspaper editors who delighted in insulting Adams" (Hart-159). This quote reveals that there

The 13th Amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In 1863, many people in the Northeast were beginning to believe that slavery was an unjust moral, and some were suggesting abolition. When the current president Abraham Lincoln realized this uprising was occuring, he decided to release his idea to the public, known as the Emancipation Proclamation. This was to try to avoid war.

The United States of America was formed on the basis of freedom from tyranny, which is crucial to understand as today’s historians take documents out of context to fit their agenda. One must go back to the original intent and not abuse the firm foundation of the United States. The United States rely on two documents to stand against tyranny and hope for a new life: The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States. Their one document which stands to prevent from tyranny, Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptist. Though Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptist was written to prevent tyranny, it has been taken out of context and impacts the Supreme Court of the United States today.

The Alien and Sedition Acts were laws that President John Adams and the congress passed on 1798. These laws intended to stop Democratic-Republicans from gaining power. The first act, the Naturalization Law, mandated that any resident, in order to become a citizen of the United States of America, would have to live in the country for fourteen years instead of five. Another, The Enemy Aliens law, gave Adams the power to expel and imprison any enemy of the United States. The Sedition law claimed that it was illegal to talk negatively or criticize the government.

Throughout the history of the United States, immigration has and continues to be an issue that is present today. Undocumented immigrants face many hardships living in our country with limited access to attain a lifestyle as any other American. These limitations affect undocumented immigrants in their daily lives and they face downward social mobility. In the workplace along with anywhere else, immigrants face fear of deportation and exploitation due to their ‘illegal’ immigration status, therefore they remain living in the shadows and in extreme distress. If opportunities such as a work permit was granted to immigrants, their chances of succeeding in the labor market would be rewarding.