Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798

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Today's Daily Dose short history film covers the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which proved to be the downfall of John Adams' presidency. The filmmaker has included the original voice over script to further assist your understanding: Today on The Daily Dose, The Alien and Sedition Acts.

In 1794, when Federalist President George Washington signed a proclamation of neutrality during a war between England and France, the Jay Treaty would improve relations with England while angering the French. When James Monroe and two other diplomats sailed to France to negotiate for peace, French politicians known as XYZ demanded a bribe before negotiations could begin, which infuriated the young American republic to no end. By the time John Adams was sworn in as the second U.S. president in 1796, France had seized more than 300 American ships, leading many to believe or insist that war with France was eminent and unavoidable. Amid mounting fears of enemy spies infiltrating American society, the majority Federalist Party, who supported a strong central government, prevailed over the minority Republican or Jeffersonian Party in passing four new laws, which collectively became known as the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Since many recent immigrants and new citizens favored the Republicans and their insistence that power remain with the individual states, Congress passed the Naturalization Act, which increased residency requirements for U.S. citizenship from five years to fourteen. The Alien Enemies Act went on to permit the government to arrest and deport all males citizens of enemy nations in the event of war, while the Alien Friends Act allowed the president to deport any non-citizen suspected of plotting against the government, even if the country was not at war. The Sedition Act, on the other hand, took direct aim at anyone who spoke ill against President Adams or the Federalist-dominated government, effectively muzzling descent from the Republican side of the aisle. While Republican lawmakers complained that the Sedition Act violated the First Amendment freedom of speech clause in the Constitution, the Federalist pushed the bill through Congress, which was signed into law by Adams on July 14th, 1798, with an expiration date set for March 3, 1801, which was the last day of his term of office.

By the law’s expiration, U.S. federal courts prosecuted no less than 26 individuals under the Sedition Act—nearly all of them editors of Republican newspapers who opposed the Adams administration. The prosecutions fueled fierce debate over the definition and meaning of a free press, as well as the rights that should be afforded to political opposition parties in the United States. In the end, widespread anger over the Alien and Sedition Acts fueled Jefferson’s victory over Adams in the bitterly contested presidential election of 1800, while their passage would go down in history as one of the biggest mistakes of the Adams presidency. By 1802, all of the Alien and Sedition Acts had either expired or been repealed, save for the Alien Enemies Act, which was amended by Congress in 1918 to include women.

[waltersperr]

The screen image at 1:16 is of Rep. Matthew Lyon (L) from Vermont fighting with Rep. Roger Griswold of Connecticut after the latter called the Vermonter a coward. Lyon allegedly spat in Griswold's face whereupon Griswold began striking Lyon with his walking stick. Lyon is said to have grabbed a pair of tongs from the fireplace and fought back. Allies of each congressman separated the people's representatives. Actually, their fight was more likely a political battle as Lyon was a Jeffersonian Democratic Republican while Griswold was a hardline Federalist. Later, letters written by Lyon were published without his consent and because they offered rather harsh, personal criticism of President John Adams, the former indentured servant from Ireland, member of the Green Mountain Boys that took Fort Ticonderoga from the British, and second lieutenant in Washington's army, was tried by a Federalist judge and a Federalist jury in Rutland, VT. Lyon argued that the Sedition Act was unconstitutional because it infringed on the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The trial was a farce. In one hour, Lyon was convicted of sedition. The congressman was imprisoned for four months in Vergennes, VT. He was fined $1, 000 as well and would remain in jail until the fine was paid. Lyon's pals - Ethan Allen, Ira Allen. Seth Warner, and others - wanted to break into the jail and set him free. Lyon refused their offer. In jail, he vowed to be re-elected to another term in Congress. He wrote articles for his own and other publications, earning the respect and admiration of voters. Their votes sent him back to Congress just in time to break a deadlock. The votes for Adams and Jefferson for the presidency had reached a tie. When that happened, Congress was responsible for holding its own vote and, sure enough. its vote was also a tie. Rep. Matthew Lyon was late in returning to Philadelphia, but he was just in time to cast the winning vote... for Thomas Jefferson. That must have been sweet revenge for the man they called "the spitting Lyon, " who had his rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press so rudely taken away by the president who signed the infamous Sedition and Alien Act of 1798.

[_Brick_]

Like if you came here after Trump so each to understand this Law! 💪🏾🇺🇸

[jessealava]

Here after the election to see what this guy has planned for us

[thedeadzonemaniac]

So Donald Duck wants to take us back to the 1700s. Cool

[igooog]

"... which were amended to include women" got a chuckle out of me

[nancykolze]

Stick with Superman, even disguised as Clark Kent, fighting for Truth, Justice, and The American way?!!!

[melli]

Who’s here after what trip said in Carolina rally 2024

[biggreen]

I've known but wanted to post about it john Adam's is a relative and used it against France

[walterrussell]

Well, that’s why we voted for trump and we had a vote on it. 150 million people voted for Trump the red wave. Thay have to go

[RedRyan]

Fight Fight Fight! Let's take back our country.

[todddavis]

The Republican party didnt even exist until 1859 dose of fantasies 😕

[VinegarMoneyGrows]

LMAO and Trump, a republican, wants to bring it back.