Alien and Sedition Acts

The politically and economically effective XYZ Affair took place during 1797 and 1798 during John Adams’ presidency, critical in the commencing of an unofficial naval war between America and France. After America and England instituted Jay’s Treaty to pay off the massive pre-revolutionary debts gained by the Southern Americas, aiding in the survival of their tough economy and America would favor trade with Britain over other foreign countries. By instituting the Treaty, the Americans angered…

family. John Adams was a Federalist, but the Federalist party was split about a foreign policy, which made it difficult for Adams to pass laws regarding foreign affairs. John Adams created new taxes, created a standing army, and signed the Alien and Sedition Acts. During his years as president, 1797-1801, he was viewed as a someone who could think and speak deeply about politics, but was not really a…

The obvious trouble with this is the subjectivity that this act could have been used with; if the President so felt he could have easily deported anyone on causes that might have been conjured up. Bruce A. Ragsdale writes in his publication, “The Sedition Act Trials” “In practice, the Sedition Act’s supposed liberalizations in the law of seditious libel provided little support for the defendants prosecuted under the act. Most judges followed traditional rules that made defense difficult or…

with the French. In a move that saw even more public outcry, the Federalists enacted the Alien and Sedition Act. Under this pretext, the Federalist leadership had the intention of repatriating French citizens that they saw as dangerous to the country. As such, the Act increased the minimum requirements for naturalization into American citizenship from five to fourteen years (Kazin et al. 294). Further, the Act made it lawful for the President to deport back to their countries any persons that…

to become a legitimate nation. Just one example of him displaying his passion to make sure America was stable was his optionsition to the Alien and Sedition Act( President John Adams) by him drafting “ the Virginia Resolves, which protested the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)” (O’Brien) This act allowed the federal government to deport any foreigner or “alien” if the government found them suspicious. This demonstrates how Madison was able to recognize and address when there was a problem…

Jefferson struck back by cutting off all exports to France and Britain, including the raw materials that Europe needed. Congress passed the Embargo Act in 1807, stopping all trade with all nations. The Embargo Act barely impacted the French and the British but devastated the American economy. In order to fix this, Congress passed the Non-Intercourse Act in 1809, which open trade with all nations except France and England. A combination of these events would eventually lead to the War of 1812…

Strict Interpretation of the Constitution Strict interpretation means that the Constitution must explicitly grant a power or privilege in order for that action to be legal. A loose interpretation doesn’t give any safeguards against government intrusion on the people’s liberty. Strict interpretation is better because it is an approach more likely to get to what the original intent of the Founders of America was. Whereas loose interpretationists can make new laws and invalidate old ones based on…

George Washington’s last wish as president of the United States was for the political system to not be tainted by political parties; however, the Federalists and democratic republicans quickly destroyed any hope of this. Both sides had contrasting political views and steadfastly held their position. The leader of the democratic Republican Party, Thomas Jefferson, was a major advocate of states’ rights and fought venomously against Federalist policies such as the national bank. Yet, when he…

In devising the Constitution for the new government, the founders were too confident that the political parties would play no formal role in the government. Thus, they wrote no word in the Constitution regarding the political parties. For the initial eight years of the America’s presence, George Washington, the first America’s President, had brought a unifying and harmony vicinity in the country. In a few years after 1789, still, he was able to practice the unbiased leadership on the new…

government. Burr fought for the continuation of big central government. When Jefferson won the election it was significant because of a smooth change in political parties, where the transfer of power was uneventful. During Jefferson’s term, the Alien and Sedition Acts expired. These were set up by Federalists in retaliation to the Democratic-republican…