Zoe Glass

May 4, 2017

The Alien and Sedition acts were measures enacted in 1798 which instated policies

designed to preserve the United States in periods of conflict. The Alien acts extended the time it

took for an immigrant to get citizenship from five to fourteen years. They empowered the

government to deport anyone they deemed dangerous to the country and detain immigrants

originating in an enemy nation. The Sedition acts made it illegal for anyone to denounce the

Federalist party and/or its members, and the respective punishment could be imprisonment or

fines. Federalists considered these acts necessary to protect the country in a time of war.

Democratic-Republicans considered them against the First Amendment, which guaranteed them

freedom of speech and press. They believed the Federalists only wanted to restrict the

immigrants' right to vote because they voted against them. I agree with the Democratic-

Republicans: laws must follow the Constitution and the Bill of rights even in times of war.

Though the Constitution does not promise immigrants specific benefits, the Alien acts resulted

from government corruption to increase the Federalist vote. The Alien and Sedition acts violated

the Constitution and actions of partiality caused by corrupted leaders.

The First Amendment of the Constitution insures the rights to religion, speech, freedom,

and petition. Since the Sedition acts prevent people from speaking or writing against the

Federalists, they are a direct and obvious violation of the Constitution. The Alien acts did not

oppose the Constitution, but are unfair. The qualifications for deportation and detainment are far

too inclusive; nobody has to prove a foreigner is a threat to America. The law should ask for
evidence that a newcomer broke the law or spied for a rival country. This way, the only

immigrants deported or detained were the malignant ones.

The Alien acts prevented immigrants from voting for fourteen years after they arrived in

the United States. As immigrants leaned towards the Democratic-Republican candidates in

elections, this only took away the Anti-Federalists' ballots. The biased Sedition acts prevented

Anti-Federalists from speaking against the party in control. This kept uneducated voters from

learning the other party's views.

The Alien and Sedition acts were a way for the Federalist government to prevent a

Democratic-Republican candidate from ever being elected. If foreigners that elected Democratic-

Republicans did not vote for fourteen years, thus the Anti-Federalist poll decreases. As long as

uneducated voters do not learn the views of both parties, the Federalists stayed in control of the

government. Though he tried to hide it, John Adams wanted his party to stay in charge.

This is my reasoning as to why the Alien and Sedition acts were not good decisions. They

violated the Constitution, corrupted the government, and kept people’s voices from being heard.

If they hadn’t been repealed, then we would become a dictatorship in no time. That may sound

drastic, but if people can’t voice their opinions, then the only people to vote for are the

Federalists who are approved by the government. That’s not democracy. If Donald Trump

doesn’t learn from the past, we may be heading in that direction.