There were two sides to the Great Debate: the Federalist who wanted to ratify the Constitution and the Anti-Federalist who opposed the ratification of the Constitution. Although the Constitution was eventually ratified and made effective in 1789 it did not end the debate between these two parties. The Anti-Federalist party was short-lived following the founding of the new government. However, it served as the precursor of the Jeffersonian Republican party which is also known as the Democratic-Republican Party. In the next quarter century, political tension would be between the deep-rooted Federalists and the emerging Jeffersonian Republicans. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 passed by the Federalist majority were fervently opposed by the …show more content…
The Federalist feared that war with France was inevitable given “rumors spread about a possible French invasion of America, one that allegedly would be supported by American traitors and a large number of French emigres that had grown to more than 20,000” (Gragg 1998, para. 4). These rumors were not completely unfounded given the sharp increase in the immigrant population. They were anxious that these immigrants including “60,000 Irish newcomers, some who had been exiled for plotting against British rule” along with British radical and the aforementioned French emigres would “mobilize the destitute” against the young nation (Gragg 1998, para. 5). In response to these fears, the Federalist sought to control immigration and limit individual liberties in order to protect the nation’s …show more content…
The Naturalization Act “raised the residence requirement for citizenship from 5 to 14 years” (Nash 2017, 189). Immigrants were drawn to the Democratic-Republican Party so by extending the time required to earn their citizenship it would slow the growth of the party. This is because these immigrants could not vote against the Federalists until they were naturalized citizens. Likewise, the Alien Enemies Act which permitted the president to “arrest, imprison, or banish” individuals who hailed from the same nation the United States was at war with “without specifying charges against them or providing opportunity for appeal” (Nash 2017, 189). If the rumored war with France broke out the more than 20,000 French emigres living in the United States would be deported. This would further reduce the number of individuals involved in the Democratic-Republican Party. The larger their membership the greater their voice would be in not only local elections, but also in Congress. Similarly, the Alien Friends Act empowered the president during peacetime to deport aliens whom he considered dangerous (Gragg 1998, para. 9). This act opened the gate for the president to expel any and all immigrants he pleased no matter which nation they hailed from. Once again this would be a costly blow to a party trying to press their political agenda. However, this is not the only reason why Jeffersonian
The Alien act and Sedition Act were two major laws passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798. Both of them caused major social and rights conflicts within the colonies by jailing people who protested the government, deporting innocent immigrants and having no freedom of the press. The Alien act of 1798 allowed immigrants living in the US to be arrested or deported without trial if they were assumed to be dangerous, or in other words, pro french. It also affected the immigrants right to vote. Previously, Individuals were required to live in the US for at least five years before voting, now they had to live in the US for at least 14 years.
The United States of America took a risk when they passed the 4 bills on the Alien and Sedition acts of 1798. During 1798, the United States of America was on the verge of declaring war against France. Taking the ideas and giving the bills to John Adams to pass them, the Federalist-controlled congress wanted to strengthen national security during undeclared war. The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed to get ready for anticipated war. The government limited the freedom of speech citizens had and tightened restrictions on foreign-born Americans.
In the article The fears of the federal list by Linda Kerber and The fears of the Jeffersonian Republic by Drew McCoy both draw the ideals of the federal list in the Republicans distant conflict of opposing ideas in the political field. Kerber expresses how federal us were carefully placed people with leadership from top minds of wealth, well McCoy shined the Republicans in a light of united people that were more willing to change with more of a insurgent mentality. Yet these groups seem to have ideas on different spectrums of the political layout of what America would become they both feared that the effects of each other's party would have on the public and influence for change. The key concerns The federal is held since the start of the
The Naturalization act made it harder for immigrants to become citizens. It went from 5 years to 14 years until you could try to be a citizen. In Sedition
This lead to what was called a “political paranoia”. This paranoia created a hiatus with Americans so it caused to stop anything that seemed or was French. Federalists found this to be threatening because it brought up a concern about the struggle between the rulers and
Timothy Pickering had also stated: “The Constitution was established for the protection and security of American citizens.” This proves that the Federalists are trying to protect the citizens. Although the purpose of the acts were clearly listed, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson still opposed the acts, and claimed that these acts were meant to make the Democratic Republican party suffer because most of their votes come from immigrants. The Alien Acts also give the government the right to jail or deport aliens accused of causing trouble. This way, our country will be protected from trouble and can punish those with wrongdoings.
In conclusion both the Federalist and the Democratic Republicans had strong options about the Alien and Sedition Acts, most of which were different in relation to what was constitutionally right or wrong. John Adams truly tried to do something proper regarding the acts but it sadly backfired when he discovered the citizens of the United States enjoyed their personal freedom. Although I would have managed the Sedition Acts differently I believe this event contributed greatly into the shaping of our government since it was still pretty clear that our Founding Fathers had no idea how to run a nation. This event only lead to the discovery of political parties and the truth about personal opinions regarding the community members of this society.
The aliens act completely demolishes what the constitution stands for, freedom. “No person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of the law”. What this means is that you cannot imprison someone without some kind of trial, however, the alien act goes completely against this. Especially when you think about them deporting innocent children just because they were born in France. When people believe that this was constitutional they say what John Adams did was necessary.
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
In the year 1798, President Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, as rumors of a French invasion and enemy spies frightened many Americans. In paranoia, Adams approved of the acts, which increased the residency requirement for American citizenship that were not free white men of good character. They authorized the president to imprison or deport aliens considered dangerous, and restricted speech opposing the government. On the contrary, Thomas Jefferson, strongly believed in the rights of Americans, so he argued that these acts were an abuse of presidential powers and free speech. Compared to Adams, Jefferson held a stronger position in opposing the Alien and Sedition Acts because the acts granted the president tyrannical power that restricted the activities of foreigners in the country and limited freedom of speech and of the press.
The American people of today have had it instilled into their minds that they possess certain unalienable rights. Citizens are educated that they have an ability to express their thoughts regarding the world around them, whether or not these thoughts adhere to the beliefs of others, and they are able to attempt and play a part in repairing and amending any aspect of their nation they may consider problematic. Every person within the United States, whether they are native or foreign, is encouraged to take advantage of their rights and abilities in an attempt to better their society. Yet, in 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts emerged, and were encouraged largely by the Federalist Party in an attempt to squander the desires of people who opposed
After World War I, America had come across some terror attacks which contributed to the Red Scare and also prompted A. Mitchell Palmer to initiate a campaign that “...targeted men and women who harbored ideas that Palmer believed could lead to violence, even though the individuals may not have done anything illegal. ”(Roark, Pg.738). In his campaign he was determined to find and convict radical immigrants who held “revolutionary conspiracies”(Roark, Pg.738), in order to enforce the American way of life. In Palmer’s eyes, in order to prevent crime in America “...there could be no nice distinctions drawn between the theoretical ideals of the radicals and their actual violations of our national laws. ”(Doc.17, Pg.66), which resulted in the “...500 noncitizen suspects deported.
The war fever made the political parties even more divided. People did not trust immigrants. Federalists thought the immigrants would back the Republicans. Congress passed the alien act that raised the time to live in the U.S. to be nationalized from 5 to 14 years (9 years longer) and gave the president the power to deport or imprison any alien he considered dangerous. People thought this was unfair, so Congress passed the sedition act (sedition is activity designed to overthrow government) that harshly limited free speech by making it illegal to write and say anything insulting, false, or with “bad intent” about the government.
The United States was a growing, prosperous nation in the 1800’s. They were the shining example of democracy and freedom for citizens. As people watched the US grow, they wanted to be a part of a great country. Immigrants flooded in from everywhere around the world to become American citizens as shown in Document A where the US was compared to Noah’s ark and shows immigrants escaping taxes, kings and opression. The American citizens began to express frustration with the overwhelming amount of immigrants coming to the United States.
Americans had rarely accepted outsiders as equals, and that was the case with immigrants coming to the U.S in the 1840s to the 1920s. A time in America where immigrants were not considered inferior to native white Americans did not exist. The hatred of anything non-American, especially with the coming of World War I in 1914, would only cause more Americans to despise immigrants. Part of this was rooted simply in racism, which existed towards groups other than African Americans, but much of it was simply that Americans considered themselves the chosen people while everyone else was below them. Thus, despite immigrants being accepted into America, those immigrants were still treated far worse than white citizens between the 1840s and 1920s, for the prejudice against them was obvious even in the laws created.