In the year 1798 America became a place of chaos after the unconstitutional laws passed under the name of the Alien & Sedition Acts. The Alien portion of the Acts increased the years someone had to live in America to gain citizenship and also gave the government the power to imprison or deport immigrants under the suspicion that they were spies. The Sedition portion restricted all American citizens from saying anything controversial about the government. The Alien & Sedition Acts were unconstitutional because newspaper editors and many others were arrested for practicing their freedom of speech, there was a great deal of debate between the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans because the laws weakened the Democratic-Republican
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When bad feelings between America and France began to grow, President Adams decided to send diplomats to France to release some of the tension between the two countries. Three French representatives, labeled as X, Y, and Z, met with the diplomats and required America to give the French government ten million dollars in bribes (The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France). After the Americans refused they were threatened with the “power and violence of France” (The Alien and Sedition Acts: Defining American Freedom). After that confrontation Adams was preparing for war with France and he passed the Alien and Sedition Acts to prevent foreign spies and traitors from attacking the country. In doing this laws were passed that were extremely unconstitutional. The Alien and Sedition Acts allowed the government to deport or arrest anyone that threatened the “peace and safety of the United States” (Primary Documents in American History) and the Acts also allowed the government to arrest anyone that uttered something opposing the government. The Alien and Sedition Acts did help to protect the American citizens but many innocent people were persecuted for arbitrary reasons. If these acts were kept in their completeness America would have run into turmoil. Over time American citizens would have become restless from their lack of freedom of speech. Also, the work force in the North would have suffered because many immigrants stayed in the North when they arrived in America and if a large majority were deported or imprisoned both the work force, incorporations, and trade would be affected by the lack of a whole community of people. Throughout American history the government has made many faults and the Alien and Sedition Acts are on that
When bad feelings between America and France began to grow, President Adams decided to send diplomats to France to release some of the tension between the two countries. Three French representatives, labeled as X, Y, and Z, met with the diplomats and required America to give the French government ten million dollars in bribes (The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France). After the Americans refused they were threatened with the “power and violence of France” (The Alien and Sedition Acts: Defining American Freedom). After that confrontation Adams was preparing for war with France and he passed the Alien and Sedition Acts to prevent foreign spies and traitors from attacking the country. In doing this laws were passed that were extremely unconstitutional. The Alien and Sedition Acts allowed the government to deport or arrest anyone that threatened the “peace and safety of the United States” (Primary Documents in American History) and the Acts also allowed the government to arrest anyone that uttered something opposing the government. The Alien and Sedition Acts did help to protect the American citizens but many innocent people were persecuted for arbitrary reasons. If these acts were kept in their completeness America would have run into turmoil. Over time American citizens would have become restless from their lack of freedom of speech. Also, the work force in the North would have suffered because many immigrants stayed in the North when they arrived in America and if a large majority were deported or imprisoned both the work force, incorporations, and trade would be affected by the lack of a whole community of people. Throughout American history the government has made many faults and the Alien and Sedition Acts are on that