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The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798
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 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.
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.
Congress 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 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.
The 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.
One 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.
Many 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.
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History
