{"data":{"description":"Alien Sedition Acts: from Folwell's Laws of the U.S. Under the threat of war with France, Congress in 1798 passed four laws in an effort to strengthen ..","title":"Alien \u0026 Sedition Acts of 1798","post_type":"page","content":"\u003ch2 style=\"color: #ad8431;\"\u003efrom Folwell's \"Laws of the U.S.\"\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Alien Sedition Acts\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ca title=\"The Alien Enemies Act\" href=\"/earlyamerica/milestone-events/alien-enemies-act/\"\u003eRead The Alien Enemies Act\u003c/a\u003e - Full Text\n\n\u003ca title=\"The Sedition Act 1798\" href=\"/earlyamerica/milestone-events/sedition-act-1798/\"\u003eRead The Sedition Act of 1798\u003c/a\u003e - Full Text\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUnder the threat of war with France,\u003c/strong\u003e Congress in 1798 passed four laws in an effort to strengthen the Federal government. Known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts, the legislation sponsored by the Federalists was also intended to quell any political opposition from the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eCongress then passed the Alien Act on June 25, authorizing the President to deport aliens \"dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States\" during peacetime.The first of the laws was the Naturalization Act, passed by Congress on June 18. This act required that aliens be residents for 14 years instead of 5 years before they became eligible for U.S. citizenship.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eThe third law, the Alien Enemies Act, was enacted by Congress on July 6. This act allowed the wartime arrest, imprisonment and deportation of any alien subject to an enemy power.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eThe last of the laws, the Sedition Act, passed on July 14 declared that any treasonable activity, including the publication of \"any false, scandalous and malicious writing,\" was a high misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment. By virtue of this legislation twenty-five men, most of them editors of Republican newspapers, were arrested and their newspapers forced to shut down.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eOne of the men arrested was Benjamin Franklin's grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, editor of the Philadelphia Democrat-Republican Aurora. Charged with libeling President Adams, Bache's arrest erupted in a public outcry against all of the Alien and Sedition Acts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eMany Americans questioned the constitutionality of these laws. Indeed, public opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts was so great that they were in part responsible for the election of Thomas Jefferson, a Republican, to the presidency in 1800. Once in office, Jefferson pardoned all those convicted under the Sedition Act, while Congress restored all fines paid with interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ca title=\"The Alien Enemies Act\" href=\"/earlyamerica/milestone-events/alien-enemies-act/\"\u003eRead The Alien Enemies Act\u003c/a\u003e - Full Text\n\n\u003ca title=\"The Sedition Act 1798\" href=\"/earlyamerica/milestone-events/sedition-act-1798/\"\u003eRead The Sedition Act of 1798\u003c/a\u003e - Full Text","menu":[{"path":"lives-early-america","title":"Famous Lives","submenu":[{"path":"lives-early-america/autobiography-benjamin-franklin","title":"Autobiography of Ben Franklin"},{"path":"lives-early-america/ramsays-life-washington","title":"Ramsay's The Life of Washington"},{"path":"lives-early-america/adventures-col-daniel-boone","title":"The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boone"},{"path":"lives-early-america/true-story-paul-revere","title":"The True Story of Paul Revere"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"portrait","title":"Portraits"},{"path":"rare-images/last-men-revolution","title":"The Last Men of the Revolution"}]},{"path":"freedom-documents","title":"Freedom Documents","submenu":[{"path":"freedom-documents/bill-rights","title":"Bill of Rights"},{"path":"freedom-documents/declaration-independence","title":"Declaration of Independence"},{"path":"freedom-documents/u-s-constitution","title":"The U.S. Constitution"}]},{"path":"world-early-america","title":"World of Early America","submenu":[{"path":"bookmarks","title":"Early American Bookmarks"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"firsts","title":"Firsts!"},{"path":"rare-images/maps","title":"Maps"},{"path":"rare-images","title":"Rare Images"},{"path":"music1","title":"Music"},{"path":"writings","title":"The Writings of Early America"}]},{"path":"boston-massacre","title":"Boston Massacre"},{"path":"milestone-events","title":"Milestones"},{"path":"early-america-review","title":"The Review"},{"path":"home/teachers-students","title":"Teachers"},{"path":"sitemap","title":"Sitemap"}]},"success":true}