The Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798 sent the nation into turmoil. The country was already jumpy with thoughts of a war against France and possibly Haiti. The people were beginning to question the government, so Congress and President Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were unfair, unconstitutional, and unnecessary. .
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In 1798 the Federalist feared that the people's criticism would weaken the government at a critical time. To silence the criticism against the government the Federalist passed four bills known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. Immigrants had to a resident of the U.S. for five years before they could get citizenship, the Naturalization Act changed that time limit to fourteen years. The Alien Act allowed the President to deport aliens who he thought were a danger to any U.S. citizen or any part of the U.S. Government. The Alien Enemies Act allowed for the government to arrest, restrain, secure, or remove any citizen of a foreign power or government that the United States in currently at war with. The last act, and possibly the most controversial one of the four, is the Sedition Act, passed on July 14, 1798. The Sedition Act made it illegal for people to conspire to oppose any measure of the U.S. Government. More importantly, it made it illegal to write, print, utter, or publish false, scandalous, or malicious writings against the U.S. Government. Citizens could go be jailed for up to two years for speaking out against the government or the President. Those laws made it possible for the president to be the judge, jury, and executioner, so to speak.
These laws were not only inhumane, but they were unconstitutional as well. The Sedition act took away the right to protest the government, and the right of free speech. Free speech is one of the most important rights given to us in the constitution. The other acts granted judicial and legislative powers to the president, powers that were specifically forbidden from that position.
