Quotes About Alien and Sedition Acts

The people had registered their dismay with a long litany of unpopular Federalist actions: the Jay Treaty, the Alien and Sedition Acts, the truculent policy toward France, the vast army being formed under Hamilton and the taxes levied to support it. The 1800 elections revealed, for the first time, the powerful centrist pull of American politics—the electorate's tendency to rein in anything perceived as extreme.

The low point of his presidency came in June and July 1798. While Adams wrestled with Hamilton over the ranking of Washington's major generals, Congress enacted four infamous laws designed to muzzle dissent and browbeat the Republicans into submission. They were known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Naturalization Act, passed on June 18, lengthened from five to fourteen years the period necessary to become a naturalized citizen with full voting rights.

A few years after the Constitution was ratified, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. These four laws were aimed at suppressing political opposition. Under the presidency of John Adams, this resulted in the prosecution and conviction

The use of torture on suspected terrorists after Sept. 11 has already earned a place in American history's hall of shame, alongside the Alien and Sedition Acts, Japanese internment during World War II, and the excesses of the McCarthy era.

and demanded ransom.22 Some angry Americans called for outright war. Others, such as President John Adams, thought the new nation was no match for the French. Fearing that public debate would fatally undermine the fledgling government, Adams sought to quell the discord by signing a set of four laws that became known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts allowed the government to imprison and deport "dangerous" foreigners and made it a crime to criticize the government.23