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... As a result, the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed under the administration of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and their necessity has been the topic of debate among many historians and history students alike. While many believe that they were unjust and unconstitutional, the Alien and Sedition acts were essential and indispensable under the circumstances of the time. ...
The malicious attacks on Washington by Bache and the attacks made on Bache by Cobett, as well as the XYZ Affair, were all cause for the Sedition Act (Document 1). The Sedition Act made it a crime for Americans to ‘print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, and malicious writing’ about the US government. ... Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both Jeffersonian Republicans, were afraid that the Sedition Acts would suppress and destroy their political party. They answered the passing of the Sedition Act with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolution (Document 5). Document 5, written by Madison and Jefferson, states that the Sedition Act ‘exercises. ... ’ Unfortunately, although what Jefferson and Madison wrote is true, the elastic clause could be used to bring justice to the law, as would the circumstances under which the Sedition Act was written. ... As Timothy Pickering states in document 4, the Sedition Act ‘prescribes a punishment only for the pests of society and disturbers of order and tranquility.’ The Sedition Act was simply a form of security for a brand new nation facing some of it’s first real issues.
Approximate Word count = 1163
Approximate Pages = 4.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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