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Why Should The Government Restrict Civil Liberties

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In 1798, President John Adams, the second President of the United States, in response of the public reaction of the Quasi War with France, he enacted the Alien and Sedition Act, and the restriction of civil liberties during wartime has operated. Civil liberties are laws that grant individual rights such as Bill of Rights to American citizens. The scope of the restrictions is mainly about the freedom of actions and speeches. After the restriction was passed, a debate between whether or not U.S. government should restrict civil liberties of citizens during the wartime arose. Should we agree the government to restrict our civil liberties during the war? These are my three reasons why the government should restrict the civil liberties : The restriction stopped some people from telling negative lectures and spreading negative comments of the war and the government, and it also inhibit revealing of the secrets of the nation. During the war, citizens are responsible to contribute, it is understandable to be asked restricting some …show more content…

These bills included Naturalization Act, Alien Friends Act , Alien Enemies Act and Sedition Act. These laws not just limited the freedom of immigrants, but also the freedom of American citizens. And this law violated the first amendment. The congress passed the law for preparation of the quasi-war and also respond to the domestic protests because the government wanted more authorities for themselves. But it was strongly attacked by Republican parties, James Madison had said that the act was the “right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people." In 1800, the enforcement of the Alien and Sedition Acts ended after Thomas Jefferson's election as president. However, the restriction were resurrected in later

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These resolutions were issued in 1978 in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They asserted the right to overrule the federal government. These resolutions give states more power than the federal government. 55. Election of 1800 Jefferson and Burr tied in the number of electoral votes and then Hamilton supported Jefferson, which eventually won him the election.

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At different times in U.S history the government has disputed about certain actions that limited civil liberties. Some include the Executive Order 9066 which relocated Japanese Americans in 1942 and the USA Patriot Act in 2001. These acts impacted the United States majorly. They both occurred after a tragic event took place and the government wanted to protect themselves, the people, and the country. The Executive Order 9066 was passed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941.

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On July 14, 1798 the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed, marking the year that the United States dishonored the Constitution by violating the 1st Amendment of the United States of America. The 1st

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The Federalist Congress passed a series of laws known as the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, these laws were signed by President Adams (John Adams 2). These consist of four laws: the Naturalization Act, which increased the time period for an immigrant to become a citizen from five to fourteen years; the Alien Act, which allowed the government to arrest and deport dangerous foreigners who threatened the country's security; the Alien Enemy Act, which allowed for the arrest and deportation of citizens of countries at war with the US; and the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to print, write, or publish derogatory statements about the federal government or its officials (John Adams 3).The first three acts were passed to target French and Irish immigrants and as a response to the previous conflict with France known as the XYZ Affair. The Sedition Act was passed in an attempt to prevent a Democratic-Republican hostility. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which constructed an idea of "nullification" of federal laws were written in response to the Acts (John Adams 3).

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Lastly, The Sedition Act was an act that would give anyone who wrote any false allegations about the government (to try to defame U.S. officials) fines and prison terms for the acts of “terrorism”. These Acts had a huge role in the Election of 1800 because there was major controversy within the Federalist Party and they were used as a way of slandering Adams so Jefferson could gain more

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He was even endowed with powers to deport any non-U.S. Citizen that he “judged dangerous to the peace and safety of the U.S...” (Ayers, American Passage, 162). The purpose was to limit the powers of Republican opposition as “Federalists rode the crest of patriotism” (Ayers, American Passages, 162). The situation worsened when the Sedition Act of 1798 trampled on the Constitution's freedom of speech, by restricting anyone to “write, print, utter or publish...any false, scandalous, or malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States, or either house of the Congress...or the President” (Ayers, American Passages, 162).

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The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed in 1798 in preparation for an anticipated war with France. It interpreted the participation of immigrants in the Republican opposition party for evidence between foreigners and disloyalty. As an immigrant I really don’t think it should be so harsh on us foreigners trying to help our government. Since immigrants were trying to get in the republican party, Federalists made harder and tighter restrictions for us immigrants and all the critics also. The Naturalization Act was also passed in 1798 which increased residency on requirement of American citizens.

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The Alien and Sedition Act started off in the year of 1798 when the 2nd president of the United States , John Adams signed it so he would put things into place. The alien and sedition act happened because the federalist saw foreigners as threats in the way they would take over land without paying taxes. Immigrants were coming into the United States and the governments people did not like that because they figured it would take up land and they wouldn't want to pay and it would also be hard to communicate with them because of the different language they spoke. They then came up with the alien sedition act , this act was to be able to deport all illegal immigrants without residence papers.

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Jeffersonians detested these acts because they believed they impeded on the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights granted Americans freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but these laws threatened to punish those speaking ill of the government and prohibited people from publishing things that would tarnish a government official’s image. While many believed these acts were unconstitutional and unnecessary, Secretary of State Pickering defended them. It stated, “The Alien Law has been bitterly inveighed against as a direct attack upon our liberties, when in fact it affects only foreigners who are conspiring against us, and had no relation whatever to an American citizen” (10G1). This quote shows that Pickering believed that since the acts only infringed on the rights of those wishing to bring harm to the United States, these acts were necessary.

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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.

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These acts came in four new laws which basically made it more difficult for foreigners to obtain their residency, to vote and to oppose the government publicly while the United States facility to deport immigrants increased. The people during this time period opposed these new regulations strongly because they thought it violated the first amendment given that it violated their freedom of speech and many citizens began getting arrested and imprisoned for publishing their opinions. Although, historians still question if these acts whether they were appropriate given the

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The Alien and Sedition Acts contradicted the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Right states that “Congress shall not… prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people”. The Sedition Act opposes this because it states that the people cannot speak, write, or do anything that makes accusations against any governmental entity (McClellan, Source 4). This is abridging the freedom of speech because you cannot talk freely about the government and are severely

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President John Adams and the Alien and Sedition Acts President John Adams was elected in 1797, as the second President of the United States. His inauguration came at a time of transition in American society, as the new nation was still adjusting to its independence. Political parties divided the nation, and citizens divided the parties. Federalists split between Conservatives and Moderates, as everyone had their own ideas on the limits of freedom. The Adams Administration represented this division as it was a mixed administration — Adams was a Federalist but his vice-president, Thomas Jefferson, was a Democratic-Republican with very different ideas about how government should be run.

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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

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Civil liberties are rights guaranteed to citizens in the Constitution that the government cannot interfere with, however, in the name of national security, they do. The government sometimes finds it necessary for Americans to give up some of their basic rights to keep the nation protected, but many people find this unnecessary. A law-abiding citizen’s extremely personal information should not be essential to finding terroristic threats within this society. Under no circumstances should an American citizen’s civil liberties be violated in a time of war or crisis, because those are assured rights that are most valuable to their freedom during national conflicts.

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