The past 20 or so years have undeniably been stormy ones for our country.
Between threats of terrorism, huge schisms in ideology, and accusations of anti patriotism, it’s no wonder the coming presidential election is heating up to be more of a three ring circus than an exercise in civic responsibility.
However, “it all comes ‘round again” has been my take on American history, and while this type of uber patriotism flames up from time to time, I’m reminded of another specific time in American history when charges of anti Americanism were rampant. So rampant in fact, laws were passed that seemed to go against the freedoms we were fighting for in the first place!!
Let’s hop in the old historical time machine to the turbulent 1790s, our …show more content…
They were becoming a threat to our humble domicile, and President John Adams felt something must be done. Enter the Alien and Sedition Acts. These were a series of laws passed by the Federalist Congress, who in 1798, saw foreigners as a threat to American security, and signed into law by President
Adams.
In short, these laws included new powers to deport foreigners, as well as make it more difficult for immigrants to vote. Before this time, an immigrant needed to reside in the United States for five years before becoming eligible to vote. The new laws bumped this limit to 14 years.
The most difficult pill to swallow was the Sedition Act, which permitted strong government control over individual actions. It basically prohibited public opposition to the government. Fines and imprisonment were in store for anyone who wrote, printed, uttered or published any false scandalous and malicious writing against the government. As a result of this law, 20 Republican newspaper editors were arrested and some were imprisoned.
While the Sedition Act clearly violated individual protections under the first amendment of the Constitution, any type of Judicial Review, wherein the
Supreme Court would consider the Constitutionality of a law, was not …show more content…
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, at one time very good friends, were looking at each other from opposite sides of a very heated topic. Jefferson, many times referred to as a “godless man” by the Federalists, saw Adams’ Alien and Sedition Acts as an attack on individual rights. His Democratic-Republicans also denounced Adam’s strong centralization of the Federal government. Adams’ Federalists feared the sympathy Jefferson had for the French would bring their revolution over to these shores...something we did not need.
The outcome brought sweeping victories for the Democratic-Republicans not only presidentially, but they also swept both houses of Congress.
All of the Alien and Sedition Acts were finally repealed within two years of its signing, except the Alien Enemies Act, which remained in effect, and in 1918 was amended to include WOMEN!! They were thought to be a threat, as was any other war protestor.
The Japanese Internment Camps of the 1940s brought the acts to the forefront again, as they do every so often when all Japanese Americans...yes Americans, were thought to be a threat to the war effort, and were interred in camps in the western U.S.
Fast forward to the upcoming 2016 election. In an effort to remain non-partisan, I only offer the following questions. Don’t we have enough problems tending our own financial, healthcare, and unemployment gardens without worrying about Americans that may be of specific ethnic
Between threats of terrorism, huge schisms in ideology, and accusations of anti patriotism, it’s no wonder the coming presidential election is heating up to be more of a three ring circus than an exercise in civic responsibility.
However, “it all comes ‘round again” has been my take on American history, and while this type of uber patriotism flames up from time to time, I’m reminded of another specific time in American history when charges of anti Americanism were rampant. So rampant in fact, laws were passed that seemed to go against the freedoms we were fighting for in the first place!!
Let’s hop in the old historical time machine to the turbulent 1790s, our …show more content…
They were becoming a threat to our humble domicile, and President John Adams felt something must be done. Enter the Alien and Sedition Acts. These were a series of laws passed by the Federalist Congress, who in 1798, saw foreigners as a threat to American security, and signed into law by President
Adams.
In short, these laws included new powers to deport foreigners, as well as make it more difficult for immigrants to vote. Before this time, an immigrant needed to reside in the United States for five years before becoming eligible to vote. The new laws bumped this limit to 14 years.
The most difficult pill to swallow was the Sedition Act, which permitted strong government control over individual actions. It basically prohibited public opposition to the government. Fines and imprisonment were in store for anyone who wrote, printed, uttered or published any false scandalous and malicious writing against the government. As a result of this law, 20 Republican newspaper editors were arrested and some were imprisoned.
While the Sedition Act clearly violated individual protections under the first amendment of the Constitution, any type of Judicial Review, wherein the
Supreme Court would consider the Constitutionality of a law, was not …show more content…
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, at one time very good friends, were looking at each other from opposite sides of a very heated topic. Jefferson, many times referred to as a “godless man” by the Federalists, saw Adams’ Alien and Sedition Acts as an attack on individual rights. His Democratic-Republicans also denounced Adam’s strong centralization of the Federal government. Adams’ Federalists feared the sympathy Jefferson had for the French would bring their revolution over to these shores...something we did not need.
The outcome brought sweeping victories for the Democratic-Republicans not only presidentially, but they also swept both houses of Congress.
All of the Alien and Sedition Acts were finally repealed within two years of its signing, except the Alien Enemies Act, which remained in effect, and in 1918 was amended to include WOMEN!! They were thought to be a threat, as was any other war protestor.
The Japanese Internment Camps of the 1940s brought the acts to the forefront again, as they do every so often when all Japanese Americans...yes Americans, were thought to be a threat to the war effort, and were interred in camps in the western U.S.
Fast forward to the upcoming 2016 election. In an effort to remain non-partisan, I only offer the following questions. Don’t we have enough problems tending our own financial, healthcare, and unemployment gardens without worrying about Americans that may be of specific ethnic