Difference Between Alien And Sedition Dbq

The earliest adoption of national censorship was during the 1700s with the passing of the 1798 Alien and Sedition Act. The Alien and Sedition Act was the strongest steps taken by Adams, this was in response to the foreign threat from France and the repression of protest domestically. This law was passed by the federalist congress in 1798, signed into law by president Adams. “These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. Previously a new immigrant would have to reside in the United States for five years before becoming eligible to vote, but a new law raised this to 14 years.” (The Alien and Sedition Acts. (n.d.) The federalists believed foreigners to be a clear threat to American …show more content…
Essentially, the act outlawed public opposition to the government. This was enforced through the use of fines and possible imprisonment if any individual printed, spoke, wrote, or published any false, malicious, or scandalous writing against the government. During that time, over 20 republican newspaper editors were arrested as well as so being imprisoned. This act was in clear violation of the rights outlined in the first amendment of the constitution. Conflict began to arise between the states and the federal government. Both Virginia and Kentucky determined that the federal law put in place was invalid within their state. All this caused enormous changes towards the end of the decade. Madison, who was the chief architect of the current strong government in the constitution, now began to feel more cautions of national authority. Madison ended up helping Kentucky legislature to reject federal law. This placed state rights above those of the federal government, both states established a model that would eventually be used to justify the secession of many other southern states in the Civil

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