Brianna McCarthy

The Sedition Act of 1798: Political Debate on its Constitutionality

Secondary Sources-Annotated Bibliography

Adams passes first of Alien and Sedition Acts. The History Channel. The History Channel. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. This source helped me know what was going on with the United States at the time before the Sedition Act of 1798. I learned more about Thomas Jeffersons defense and attack towards John Adams decisions on the Sedition Act of 1798 and the Neutralization Act; how it was unconstitutional and despotic. This source helped me
distinguish both, John Adams and Thomas Jeffersons defenses.

Alien and Sedition Acts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. This source explained to me that the Federalists feared the French of threatening the United States and this source also states what the Sedition Act was banning. This source helped me understand the Federalists reason in passing the Sedition Act. Belt, Gordon T. Sedition Act of 1798-a brief history of arrests, indictments, mistreatment & abuse. First Amendment Center. First Amendment Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. This source is my first secondary source I have researched and has helped me significantly. It was mainly a summarization of the Sedition Act. It helped me define who the Sedition Act was against and it gave me many names and cases of the people indicted. Commentary on Sedition Act of 1798. Civil Rights in America. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey. U.S History In Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. This source is a commentary on the Sedition Act and it helped me understand what sedition or seditious means. It also helped me understand more on the reason why the Federalists thought the Sedition Act was needed; because they needed to protect the nation from the spread of dangerous ideas like the ones during the French Revolution, which was happening at the time.

Brianna McCarthy

First Amendment. Wests Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 412-419. U.S History In Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
This source helped me understand the meanings of the Freedom of Speech and Press. It basically gave me an understanding of these rights, which were violated in the Sedition Act of 1798.

John Adams. Presidential Administration Profiles for Students. Ed. Kelle S. Sisung and Gerda-Ann Raffaelle. Detroit: Gale Group, 2003. U.S History In Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
This source helped me on information about John Adams presidency and on whether or not he was in favor of the Sedition Act of 1798.

John Adams Signs the Alien and Sedition Acts: 1798. Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History. Vol. 6: North America. Detroit: Gale, 2013. U.S History In Context. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
This source was a summarization of the Sedition Act and John Adams taking in office and the feud between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. This source was quite helpful for focusing on why the Sedition Act was made; because the Federalists believed that the U.S. was threatened by some people who utter, publish, print, write or cause these actions to happen of any malicious or seditious writing against the United States government.

Sedition Act of 1798. Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 172-173. U.S History In Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
This source gave me another summary of the Sedition Act of 1798 and also stated the four sections of the act and summarized them briefly. Along with that, the source gave me information about the significance of the Sedition Act; about the tense relationship between President John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and the reason why the act was made.

Brianna McCarthy

Stone, Geoffrey R. Perilous Times: free speech in wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the war on terrorism. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2004. Print.
This book was extremely useful for me. In the chapter that focused on the Sedition Acts it included Section Two of the Sedition Act of 1798 (primary source). I learned a lot about both sides of the debate on whether the Sedition Act is constitutional: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. This source gave me a deeper understanding of the heated debate between the two parties over the constitutionality of the act and what is the real definition of the freedom of speech and press.

The Alien and Sedition Acts: Defining American Freedom. Constitutional Rights Foundation. Constitutional Rights Foundation. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
This source was a brief summarization the Sedition Act. I was able to tell how the act attacked the Republicans by giving examples of some trials and the background information of those cases. This source also helped me know about how the definition of free speech and press is perceived and it lastly summarized that by 1800, Thomas Jefferson took office and confirmed the new definition of free speech and press.

The Freedom of the Press. Wests Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman. 2nd ed. Vol.4. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 503-505. U.S History In Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
This source referenced the Freedom of the Press multiple times and helped me give a deeper understanding of the freedom. This source was quite useful because it gave a brief explanation about this political controversy; how this freedom of the press and the freedom of speech were violated by the Sedition Act of 1798. I used this source to help me find a better meaning of the freedom and to justify whether or not the act violated the rights.

Brianna McCarthy

The Sedition Act of 1798: Political Debate on its Constitutionality

Primary Sources-Annotated Bibliography

"Certain Crimes Against the United States: The Sedition Acts." EDSITEment. EDSITEment, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
This source was extremely helpful with summarizations of the Sedition Act itself, George Washingtons perspective of the act, other examples of excerpt of Jeffersons opinions on the Sedition Act, and excerpts from a debate in the House of Representatives with many representatives opinions. This source is extremely useful with in-depth summaries and opinions from many firsthand accounts.

Congress, U.S. Sedition Act of 1798. Civil Rights in America. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey. U.S. History in Context. Web.22 Nov. 2013.
This source gave me the actual Sedition Act of 1798, which is why I categorized it as a primary source. This source is very helpful because it is the actual act written in four sections where I can summarize each one individually. This source is also so helpful for me because I can always look back and reference it in my project.

"Lesson 4: Thomas Jefferson on the Sedition Act." EDSITEment. EDSITEment, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
This source gave me a piece of the first-hand account of Thomas Jeffersons opinion of the Sedition Act of 1798 through a letter to Mr. John Adams. In the quotation of Jeffersons letter, he explained his understanding of checks and balances and his opinion of the United States judiciary. He said that he did not believe the Constitution gave the Judiciary power to declare a law passed by Congress unconstitutional. I found that Thomas Jeffersons opinion of the Sedition Act is quite important because he is the leader of the opposing side, the Democratic-Republicans and he has been fighting against the act.

"Lesson 5: Consequences of the Sedition Act." EDSITEment. EDSITEment, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
This source was a lesson plan about the Sedition Act; it gave me very helpful information about the United States and Frances relationship and the Federalists and Republicans relationship. It also gave me an excerpt of a first-hand account of Thomas Jeffersons prediction of the consequences of the Sedition Act along with more explanations. This source was helpful because it gave me a lot more background information.

Brianna McCarthy

Newspaper Broadside Filed in United States v. Thomas Cooper. College Park: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. PDF.
This source gave me a first-hand account of one of the articles that Thomas Cooper, who was indicted by the Act, printed and published. In this source it shows what he wrote that was offensive towards President John Adams. This source is very helpful for me and my project because it is evidence of the indictment of Thomas Cooper.

"The Sedition Act Trials-Historical Background and Documents." Federal Judicial Center. Federal Judicial Center, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
This source gave me a first-hand account of the record of the trial, United States v. Thomas Cooper. This is useful for me because it gives me more information on Thomas Coopers case and more about his indictment. This source is helpful because I can reference this in my project as examples of many cases of the Sedition Act of 1798.