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Similarities Between 1798 Alien And Sedition Acts Dbq

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1798 Alien and Sedition Acts
In 1798 United States was in crisis. The government feared foreigners coming into the country, causing threats towards the safety and peace of the US. Agents from France took US ships and demanded bribes in order to talk to US officials. The congress and citizens were angered and violence erupted between France and US. As a result opponents and supporters argue about whether the decisions of the government were reasonable. Supporters of the French cause started to go against the President and question his actions. In fear of people undermining President Adams power, he places the Alien and Sedition Acts to protect himself. Federalists and Republicans argued weather these laws were to protect the country or to go …show more content…

“And in case any alien, so ordered to depart, shall be found at large within the United States after the time limited in such order for his departure, and not having obtained a license from the President to reside therein, or having obtained such license shall not have conformed thereto, every such alien shall, on conviction thereof, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and shall never after be admitted to become a citizen of the US”(Excerpts from the Alien and Sedition Acts). This statement meant that once the alien was given the punishment and after they have served their time they shall be able to live free in the US, but only if they have gotten a license from President Adams to stay in the US. Any Alien who was ordered to depart has to satisfy the president that there will be no danger or injury to the US if the alien wants to live in the US. The President will judge whether to provide a license to the alien if he finds it that they are not a threat to the US, and he will chose for how long and the area the alien must stay. (Transition sentence) The Sedition Act allowed the US government to give consequences to anyone who goes against the government. Congress did not want any foreigners or citizens to be able to say anything negative …show more content…

The Sedition Act had gotten Democratic-Republicans angered, they saw this law as a threat towards the citizens. The act violated Democratic-Republicans of the Federalists policies and they believed that the guarantee of freedom of speech had been taken away from them. Democratic-Republicans passed the Virginia and Kentucky Resolution, this policy declared that the Alien and Sedition Act not valid. “They protested against the “alarming infractions of the Constitution,” particularly the freedom of speech that “has been justly deemed, the only effectual guardian of every other right.” Virginia even claimed that states had a right to nullify any powers exercised by the federal government that were not explicitly granted to it” (Lewis and Hewitt 230). Federalists argued that it is necessary to protect the country and to keep the citizens safe of threats. “Newspaper editors and politicians favorable to France blasted him with intemperate language that his supporters feared that the United States could be pushed to the brink of civil war. Federalists in Congress tried to muffle the opposition by criminalizing seditious words, believing it to be the only way to preserve the country”(The Crisis Of 1798: Sedition Document). Congress decided it was the best way to keep away from a civil war and to defend the President from Sedition activities towards him and the

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Alien and Sedition Act are actually connected in a way, both of these act were the four bills the federalist passed in the United States Congress, this law

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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.

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During his time as president, Adams had decided to sign the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien acts was an act that had said that they could deport foreigners and make it harder for them to be able to vote in any election. Sedition Acts had said that if people were to write hateful against the government or president then it is considered as a

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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.

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Great Britain and France had been at war, on and off, since 1793. The United States, which traded with both countries, was caught in the middle. Britain blocked all French seaports and insisted that U.S. ships first stop at a British port and pay a fee before continuing to

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Hence Federalists came up with the Bill of Rights as a way to get the Constitution ratified and for people to really see a needed change. The Bill Of Rights which lists specific prohibitions on governmental power, lead the Anti-Federalists to be less fearful of the new Constitution . This guaranteed that the people would still remain to have rights, but the strong central government that the country needed would have to be approved. The 1804 Map of the nation shows that even after the ratification of the United States Constitution there still continued to be “commotion” and dispute in the country.(Document 8) George Washington stated that the people should have a say in the nation and government and everything should not be left to the government to decide.(Document 3) Although George Washington was a Federalist many believed he showed a point of view that seemed to be Anti-Federalists. Many believed that The Bill of Rights needed to be changed and modified and a new document’s time to come into place.

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The Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of laws that were passed in 1798 by the Federalist Congress and then were signed into law by President John Adams. These laws made it harder for immigrants to vote and also included powers that were new to deport foreigners. Before this law was passed, an immigrant had to live in the United States for 5 years before being able to vote, but the law changed it from 5 years to 14 years. The Federalists saw as a threat to American security. One Federalist said that there was “no need to invite hordes of Wild Irishmen, nor the turbulent and disorderly of all the world, to come here with a basic view to distract our tranquility,” even though the non-English people have been supporters of the Democratic-Republicans

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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

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In 1798 the “Alien and Sedations Act” would give the president the power to prevent potential threats from immigrating as well as allow detainment of populations. This was seen as a potential abuse of power and circumvention of the checks and balance systems by two states and particular: Kentucky and Virginia. While the Kentucky Resolution seems inconsistent with the framers intent, the Virginia Resolution raises seriously concerns which are consistent with my reading of the “Federalist Papers.” The Kentucky Resolution is an ambitious response, at best, to the “Alien and Sedation Acts.”

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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’

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The Federalists wanted a strong central government. The Anti- Federalists claims Constitution gives the central government too much power and, and they worried about the new constitution will not give them any rights. That the new system threatened freedom; Also, threatened the sovereignty of the states and personal liberties; failed to protect individual rights. Besides, some of famous peoples such as " Patrick Henry" and artists have came out against the Constitution. Although the anti-Federalists were unsuccessful in stopping the passage of the Constitution, their efforts have been responsible for the creation and implementation of the Bill of

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The United States walked once on unsteady grounds, leading to chaos and fear of the unknown. In the 1700’s the war between France and England initiated conflicts within The United States. Political parties from the same nation sided with different countries, which divided our nation and led to bigotries within legislations and government administration. The insecurity of the two political parties led to The Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien and Sedition Acts became a polemic topic that leads to numerous

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People would consider the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional because it was against of some articles from The Bill of Rights. First of all, on article 5 says that nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, and it is against the Alien Act, that says that the president have the power to deport any alien he considered dangerous to the nation's security. Second, the Sedition Act is totally against the Bill of Rights, because it placed heavy fines and even prison terms on any person found guilty of "combining and conspiring to oppose the execution of the laws, or publishing false, scandalous, or malicious writings against the President. Finally, does the President of the United States has the power to put someone

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The Anti- Federalists claimed the Constitution gave the central government an excessive amount of power, and while not a Bill of Rights the folks would be in danger of oppression. Both Hamilton and Madison argued that the Constitution did not want a Bill of Rights, that it might produce a "parchment barrier" that restricted the rights of the folks, as critical protective

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The Alien and Sedition Acts authorized the President to imprison and/or deport aliens that were considered a threat to the nation. Proclamation 2527, issued on December 8, 1941, declared Italian Americans as potential “alien enemies”. It was identical to Proclamation 2526 except that it applied to natives, citizens, subjects, and denizens of Italy. The word alien means an individual who, due to permanent or temporary allegiance to a hostile power, is regarded as an enemy in wartime. During WWII, 600,000 Italian-Americans were branded enemy aliens.

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