Alien

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Alien Sedition acts
President John Adams

• The controversial foreign policy of the
  Federalists prompted domestic protest and
  governmental repression.

Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary
Source Content Americas History Images as cited.
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As the U.S. fought an undeclared maritime war
against France, immigrants from Ireland attacked
Adamss pro-British foreign policy.
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To silence the critics, the Federalists
controlled Congress enacted three coercive laws
that threatened individual rights and the
fledgling party system.
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The Naturalization Act lengthened the residency
requirement for American citizenship and so the
right to vote from five to fourteen years.
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The Alien Act authorized the deportation of
foreigners.
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The Sedition Act prohibited the publication of
insults or malicious attacks on the president or
members of Congress.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazette_of_the_United
_States
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He that is not for us is against us, read the
Federalist Gazette of the United States.
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It was the Sedition Act that generated the most
controversy. Prosecutors arrested more than
twenty Republican newspaper editors and
politicians, accused them of sedition, and
convicted and jailed a number of them.
Political cartoon of Congressman Lyon (holding
tongs), and later arrested under the Sedition
Acts,brawling with Congressman Roger Griswold.
www.encyclopedia.com
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What developed was a constitutional crisis. With
justification, Republicans charged that the
Sedition Act violated the First Amendments
prohibition against abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press.
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Republicans did not appeal to the Supreme Court
because the Courts power to review congressional
legislation was uncertain and because most of the
justices were Federalists.
etc.usf.edu
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Instead, Madison and Jefferson looked to state
legislatures for a solution. At their urging, the
Kentucky and Virginia legislatures issued
resolutions in 1798 declaring the Alien and
Seditions Acts to be unauthoritative, void, and
of no force.
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The resolution set forth a states rights
interpretation of the Constitution, asserting
that the states had a right to judge the
legitimacy of national laws.
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The debate over the Sedition Act set the stage
for the presidential election of 1800.
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With Republicans strongly supporting Jeffersons
bid for the presidency, President Adams
reevaluated his foreign policy.
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Rejecting Hamiltons advice to declare war
against France, President Adams put country ahead
of party and entered into diplomatic negotiations
that ended the fighting.
Alexander Hamilton
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Despite Adamss statesmanship, the campaign of
1800 degenerated into name-calling. The
Federalists attacked Jeffersons values, branding
him an irresponsible pro-French radical....
Thomas Jefferson
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. and because he opposed state support of
religion in Virginia, the arch-apostle of
irreligion and free thought.
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Thanks to a low Federalist turnout in Virginia
and Pennsylvania and the three-fifths rule (which
boosted electoral votes in the southern state),
Jefferson won a narrow 73 to 65 victory over
Adams in the Electoral College.
bill.ballpaul.net
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However, the Republican electors also gave 73
votes to Aaron Burr of New York, who was
Jeffersons vice presidential running mate.
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The Constitution specified that in the case of a
tie vote, the House of Representatives would
choose the president.
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For thirty-five ballots, Federalists in the House
blocked Jeffersons election, prompting a new
rumor that Virginia was raising a military force
to put Jefferson in office.
www.ushistory.org
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Ironically, it was arch-Federalist Alexander
Hamilton who ushered in a more democratic era by
supporting Jefferson.
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Calling Burr an embryo Caesar and the most
unfit man in the United States for the office of
president, he persuaded key Federalists to allow
Jeffersons election.
thehonestlyblog.wordpress
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Jefferson called the election the Revolution of
1800. The bloodless transfer of power
demonstrated that governments elected by the
people could be changed in an orderly way, even n
times of bitter partisan conflict.
etext.virginia.edu
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In his inaugural address in 1801, Jefferson
praised this achievement, declaring, We are all
Republicans, we are all Federalists.
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Defying the predictions of European
conservatives, the republican experiment of 1776
had survived a quarter-century of economic and
political turmoil.
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