The Alien and Sedition Acts
Before there was the Patriot Act, there were the Alien and Sedition Acts, four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress. The bills followed in the aftermath of the French Revolution and in the midst of an undeclared naval war with Britain and France, later known as the Quasi-War. They were signed into law by President John Adams.
The four separate bills that constituted what are now commonly referred to as the "Alien and Sedition Acts", were the following:
1. The Naturalization Act: it increased the time of residence required for foreigners (aliens) to become citizens of the United States from five years to fourteen years.
2. The Alien Act authorized the president to deport any resident alien considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States." It was activated June 25, 1798, with a two year expiration date.
3. The Alien Enemies Act authorized the president to apprehend and deport resident aliens if their home countries were at war with the United States of America. Enacted July 6, 1798, and providing no sunset provision, the act remains intact today.
4. The Sedition Act made it an offence to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government or certain officials. It was enacted July 14, 1798, with an expiration date of March 3, 1801 (the day before Adams' presidential term was to end).
These laws led to major opposition to Federalists among Democratic-Republicans. Leading members of that party such as Thomas Jefferson had been strong supporters of France. Some of the more fervent supporters of this philosphy wanted an event similar to the French Revolution to come to the United States to overthrow the Federalists.
When Democratic-Republicans in some states refused to enforce federal laws, and even threatened possible rebellion, Federalists threatened to send in an army and force them to capitulate. Calls for secession followed, which was seen by Federalists as having been caused by French and French-sympathizing immigrants. The acts were intended by Federalists to guard against this perceived threat of anarchy.
Democratic-Republicans denounced them as being both unconstitutional and designed to stifle criticism of the administration, and as infringing on the right of the states to act in these areas. They became a major political issue in the elections of 1798 and 1800. They were very controversial in their own day, as they remain to the present day.
The Democratic-Republicans used the Alien and Sedition Acts as one of their principal issues in the 1800 election, in which the Federalists were turned out of power. Thomas Jefferson, upon assuming the Presidency, pardoned all of those still serving sentences under the Sedition Act, though he also used the acts to prosecute some of his own critics before the acts expired. In 1802, the House Judiciary Committee denounced the Sedition Act as unconstitutional, permitting the refund of fines which had been paid under it.
The Alien and Sedition Acts were never appealed to the Supreme Court, because the court's right of judicial review was not established until Marbury v. Madison in 1803, and also because the Court in 1798 was composed entirely of Federalists, all appointed by Washington. Later Supreme Court opinions have assumed that they were unconstitutional. For example in the leading free speech case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Court declared, "Although the Sedition Act was never tested in this Court, the attack upon its validity has carried the day in the court of history." More recently, in Watts v. United States, Justice William O. Douglas noted, "The Alien and Sedition Laws constituted one of our sorriest chapters; and I had thought we had done with them forever ... Suppression of speech as an effective police measure is an old, old device, outlawed by our Constitution."
The Alien Enemies Act remained in force and was used as a basis for the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II.
The four separate bills that constituted what are now commonly referred to as the "Alien and Sedition Acts", were the following:
1. The Naturalization Act: it increased the time of residence required for foreigners (aliens) to become citizens of the United States from five years to fourteen years.
2. The Alien Act authorized the president to deport any resident alien considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States." It was activated June 25, 1798, with a two year expiration date.
3. The Alien Enemies Act authorized the president to apprehend and deport resident aliens if their home countries were at war with the United States of America. Enacted July 6, 1798, and providing no sunset provision, the act remains intact today.
4. The Sedition Act made it an offence to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government or certain officials. It was enacted July 14, 1798, with an expiration date of March 3, 1801 (the day before Adams' presidential term was to end).
These laws led to major opposition to Federalists among Democratic-Republicans. Leading members of that party such as Thomas Jefferson had been strong supporters of France. Some of the more fervent supporters of this philosphy wanted an event similar to the French Revolution to come to the United States to overthrow the Federalists.
When Democratic-Republicans in some states refused to enforce federal laws, and even threatened possible rebellion, Federalists threatened to send in an army and force them to capitulate. Calls for secession followed, which was seen by Federalists as having been caused by French and French-sympathizing immigrants. The acts were intended by Federalists to guard against this perceived threat of anarchy.
Democratic-Republicans denounced them as being both unconstitutional and designed to stifle criticism of the administration, and as infringing on the right of the states to act in these areas. They became a major political issue in the elections of 1798 and 1800. They were very controversial in their own day, as they remain to the present day.
The Democratic-Republicans used the Alien and Sedition Acts as one of their principal issues in the 1800 election, in which the Federalists were turned out of power. Thomas Jefferson, upon assuming the Presidency, pardoned all of those still serving sentences under the Sedition Act, though he also used the acts to prosecute some of his own critics before the acts expired. In 1802, the House Judiciary Committee denounced the Sedition Act as unconstitutional, permitting the refund of fines which had been paid under it.
The Alien and Sedition Acts were never appealed to the Supreme Court, because the court's right of judicial review was not established until Marbury v. Madison in 1803, and also because the Court in 1798 was composed entirely of Federalists, all appointed by Washington. Later Supreme Court opinions have assumed that they were unconstitutional. For example in the leading free speech case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Court declared, "Although the Sedition Act was never tested in this Court, the attack upon its validity has carried the day in the court of history." More recently, in Watts v. United States, Justice William O. Douglas noted, "The Alien and Sedition Laws constituted one of our sorriest chapters; and I had thought we had done with them forever ... Suppression of speech as an effective police measure is an old, old device, outlawed by our Constitution."
The Alien Enemies Act remained in force and was used as a basis for the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II.