Presidential Mistakes: The Alien and Sedition Acts
When many scholars list what they consider to be the most glaring mistakes made by Presidents, the Alien and Sedition Acts seem to show up on everyone's list. These were four bills that were passed by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798. They were meant to address an undeclared naval war with France that was taking place at the time, which became known as the Quasi-War. The laws were intended to strengthen national security. But many scholars and historians, as well as contemporary critics, have made the case that they were really just an attempt to silence those who disagreed with the Federalist party.
The four bills were:
(1) The Naturalization Act-it increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from 5 to 14 years
(2) The Alien and Sedition Act-it allowed the president to imprison or deport aliens that were considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" at any time
(3) The Alien Enemies Act-it authorized the president to imprison or deport any male citizen of a hostile nation over the age of 14 during times of war
(4) The Sedition Act-this allowed the prosecution of those who were critical of the federal government.
At the time, the majority of immigrants supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans, who were the political opponents of the Federalists. These controversial pieces of legislation were denounced by Democratic-Republicans and were a major issue in the election of 1800 (won by Jefferson). The Sedition Act and the Alien Friends Act were allowed to expire in 1800 and 1801, respectively. The Alien Enemies Act, however, remains in effect today. During World War II, it was used to detain, deport and confiscate the property of Japanese, German, Italian, and other citizens of the Axis nations who were residing in the United States.
There had been a split between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans since Alexander Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed while members of the first Cabinet. These political differences were especially strong during John Adams' term, with the Democratic-Republicans supporting France during the French Revolution. Some even talked about something similar happening in the United States to overthrow the Adams government. When Democratic-Republicans in some states refused to enforce federal laws, such as the 1791 whiskey tax, the first tax levied by the national government, and threatened to rebel, Federalists threatened to send in the army to enforce the law. Unrest was sweeping Europe and was spilling over into the United States, with calls for secession being heard in some parts. Some leading Federalists saw this as being caused by French sympathizers and French-sympathizing immigrants. They responded with the Alien Act and the Sedition Act in order to guard against what they perceived as the threat of anarchy.
Democratic-Republicans opposed these acts and denounced them as an attack on free speech. (Ironically, after the 1800 election, the Acts were used by them against Federalists.) The Acts were a major political issue in the elections of 1798 and 1800. The Sedition Act was used in a number of prominent prosecutions against the editors of newspapers with anti-Federalist leanings, including James Thomson Callender, a Scottish citizen, who had been expelled from Great Britain for his political writings. (Callender was the subject of the previous entry in this series) Living first in Philadelphia, and then seeking moving to Virginia where he felt safer, Callender wrote a book entitled "The Prospect Before Us". The book was read and approved by Vice President Jefferson before its publication. In the book, Callender called the Adams administration a "continual tempest of malignant passions". He referred to Adams as a "repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite and an unprincipled oppressor". Callender, who was writing for the Richmond Examiner at the time, was indicted in the spring of 1800 under the Sedition Act and was convicted, fined $200 and sentenced to nine months in jail.
Another prominent person prosecuted under the Sedition Act was Matthew Lyon, a Democratic-Republican congressman from Vermont. He was indicted in 1800 under the Sedition Act for an essay he had written in the Vermont Journal in which he accused the Adams administration of "ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation, and selfish avarice". At trial, he was fined $1,000 and sentenced to four months in jail. After his release, he returned to Congress.
Benjamin Franklin Bache (the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and the subject of the first entry in this series) was editor of the Aurora, a Democratic-Republican newspaper. In his paper Bache had accused George Washington of incompetence and financial irregularities. He wrote that "the blind, bald, crippled, toothless, querulous Adams" was guilty of nepotism and monarchical ambition. Bache was arrested in 1798 under the Sedition Act, but he died of yellow fever before trial.
In November 1798, a man named David Brown led a group in Dedham, Massachusetts which put up a liberty pole with the words, "No Stamp Act, No Sedition Act, No Alien Bills, No Land Tax, downfall to the Tyrants of America; peace and retirement to the President; Long Live the Vice President". Brown was arrested in Andover, Massachusetts and was taken to Salem for trial. He was tried in June 1799. Brown pled guilty but Justice Samuel Chase asked him to name others who had assisted him. Brown refused. He was fined $480, and sentenced to eighteen months in prison, the most severe sentence ever imposed under the Sedition Act.
While government authorities prepared lists of aliens for deportation, many aliens fled the country during the debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts, and Adams never signed a deportation order.
The Democratic-Republicans made the Alien and Sedition Acts a major issue in the 1800 election. When Thomas Jefferson assumed the Presidency, he pardoned those still serving sentences under the Sedition Act and ordered their fines to be repaid. But Jefferson also used the acts to prosecute several of his own critics before the acts expired.
The Alien and Sedition Acts were never appealed to the Supreme Court, whose right of judicial review had not yet been established. (That would occur later in the famous case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803.)
These acts had serious ramifications that lasted long after their implementation. Whole the acts were in effect, Jefferson and James Madison secretly drafted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which denounced the federal legislation. Jefferson drafted a threat for Kentucky to secede. In writing the Kentucky Resolutions, Jefferson wrote that the Alien and Sedition Acts would "necessarily drive these states into revolution and blood." Jefferson set in motion the doctrine of states' rights. The influence of Jefferson's states' rights doctrine continued right up to the Civil War and beyond.
It should be noted that Adams did not write the laws, but he did sign them into law, and failed to appreciate their harm to free speech or their potential for abuse. Though not yet President, Thomas Jefferson exacerbated the situation with his irresponsible call for Kentucky's secession, something which was not only treasonous, but which gave legitimacy to those who would subsequently put the interests of their states ahead of the interests and unity of the nation. It was not the last time in the nation's history when federal legislation would be passed limiting the news media's ability to criticize the president.
The four bills were:
(1) The Naturalization Act-it increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from 5 to 14 years
(2) The Alien and Sedition Act-it allowed the president to imprison or deport aliens that were considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" at any time
(3) The Alien Enemies Act-it authorized the president to imprison or deport any male citizen of a hostile nation over the age of 14 during times of war
(4) The Sedition Act-this allowed the prosecution of those who were critical of the federal government.
At the time, the majority of immigrants supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans, who were the political opponents of the Federalists. These controversial pieces of legislation were denounced by Democratic-Republicans and were a major issue in the election of 1800 (won by Jefferson). The Sedition Act and the Alien Friends Act were allowed to expire in 1800 and 1801, respectively. The Alien Enemies Act, however, remains in effect today. During World War II, it was used to detain, deport and confiscate the property of Japanese, German, Italian, and other citizens of the Axis nations who were residing in the United States.
There had been a split between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans since Alexander Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed while members of the first Cabinet. These political differences were especially strong during John Adams' term, with the Democratic-Republicans supporting France during the French Revolution. Some even talked about something similar happening in the United States to overthrow the Adams government. When Democratic-Republicans in some states refused to enforce federal laws, such as the 1791 whiskey tax, the first tax levied by the national government, and threatened to rebel, Federalists threatened to send in the army to enforce the law. Unrest was sweeping Europe and was spilling over into the United States, with calls for secession being heard in some parts. Some leading Federalists saw this as being caused by French sympathizers and French-sympathizing immigrants. They responded with the Alien Act and the Sedition Act in order to guard against what they perceived as the threat of anarchy.
Democratic-Republicans opposed these acts and denounced them as an attack on free speech. (Ironically, after the 1800 election, the Acts were used by them against Federalists.) The Acts were a major political issue in the elections of 1798 and 1800. The Sedition Act was used in a number of prominent prosecutions against the editors of newspapers with anti-Federalist leanings, including James Thomson Callender, a Scottish citizen, who had been expelled from Great Britain for his political writings. (Callender was the subject of the previous entry in this series) Living first in Philadelphia, and then seeking moving to Virginia where he felt safer, Callender wrote a book entitled "The Prospect Before Us". The book was read and approved by Vice President Jefferson before its publication. In the book, Callender called the Adams administration a "continual tempest of malignant passions". He referred to Adams as a "repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite and an unprincipled oppressor". Callender, who was writing for the Richmond Examiner at the time, was indicted in the spring of 1800 under the Sedition Act and was convicted, fined $200 and sentenced to nine months in jail.
Another prominent person prosecuted under the Sedition Act was Matthew Lyon, a Democratic-Republican congressman from Vermont. He was indicted in 1800 under the Sedition Act for an essay he had written in the Vermont Journal in which he accused the Adams administration of "ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation, and selfish avarice". At trial, he was fined $1,000 and sentenced to four months in jail. After his release, he returned to Congress.
Benjamin Franklin Bache (the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and the subject of the first entry in this series) was editor of the Aurora, a Democratic-Republican newspaper. In his paper Bache had accused George Washington of incompetence and financial irregularities. He wrote that "the blind, bald, crippled, toothless, querulous Adams" was guilty of nepotism and monarchical ambition. Bache was arrested in 1798 under the Sedition Act, but he died of yellow fever before trial.
In November 1798, a man named David Brown led a group in Dedham, Massachusetts which put up a liberty pole with the words, "No Stamp Act, No Sedition Act, No Alien Bills, No Land Tax, downfall to the Tyrants of America; peace and retirement to the President; Long Live the Vice President". Brown was arrested in Andover, Massachusetts and was taken to Salem for trial. He was tried in June 1799. Brown pled guilty but Justice Samuel Chase asked him to name others who had assisted him. Brown refused. He was fined $480, and sentenced to eighteen months in prison, the most severe sentence ever imposed under the Sedition Act.
While government authorities prepared lists of aliens for deportation, many aliens fled the country during the debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts, and Adams never signed a deportation order.
The Democratic-Republicans made the Alien and Sedition Acts a major issue in the 1800 election. When Thomas Jefferson assumed the Presidency, he pardoned those still serving sentences under the Sedition Act and ordered their fines to be repaid. But Jefferson also used the acts to prosecute several of his own critics before the acts expired.
The Alien and Sedition Acts were never appealed to the Supreme Court, whose right of judicial review had not yet been established. (That would occur later in the famous case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803.)
These acts had serious ramifications that lasted long after their implementation. Whole the acts were in effect, Jefferson and James Madison secretly drafted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which denounced the federal legislation. Jefferson drafted a threat for Kentucky to secede. In writing the Kentucky Resolutions, Jefferson wrote that the Alien and Sedition Acts would "necessarily drive these states into revolution and blood." Jefferson set in motion the doctrine of states' rights. The influence of Jefferson's states' rights doctrine continued right up to the Civil War and beyond.
It should be noted that Adams did not write the laws, but he did sign them into law, and failed to appreciate their harm to free speech or their potential for abuse. Though not yet President, Thomas Jefferson exacerbated the situation with his irresponsible call for Kentucky's secession, something which was not only treasonous, but which gave legitimacy to those who would subsequently put the interests of their states ahead of the interests and unity of the nation. It was not the last time in the nation's history when federal legislation would be passed limiting the news media's ability to criticize the president.