Alien & Sedition: Awful & Sorry. The Alien & Sedition acts passed by the Fed. Mean spirited Difficult…

Alien & Sedition:

Awful & Sorry

Alien & Sedition: Awful & Sorry

•The Alien & Sedition acts passed by the Fed.•Mean spirited

•Difficult for foreigners to become US citizens

• The pres. could throw anyone he wanted out of the US if thought to be dangerous

•Aimed at French-fleeing French Revolution

The Alien acts: Support vs. No Support

•Fed.=Admire English

•Dem.-Rep.=Admire French

•Most ppl. in the US=Protestants• French=Catholic•Wanted to keep the Catholics out of the US• Supported the Alien acts

The Sedition Act

•Sedition acts• Crime to criticize the gov’t & could be arrested

• Ben Franklin’s grandson & congressman Matthew Lyon-VT

The Sedition Act•Matthew Lyon• Came to US from Ireland at 15-indentured servant

• Fought w/ Ethan Allen & the Green Mt. Boys in the R. War

• Independent, temper, & wild

• “Spitting Lyon” & fought w/members of Congress

• Attacked Pres. Adams in the Rutland Gazette• Pres. was trying to act like a king & should be sent to the mad

house• Lyon was sent to jail

The Sedition & Alien Acts

• Jefferson was unhappy w/ the Sedition acts• “I know not what mortifies me most, that I should fear to write what I think, or my country bear such a state of things.”

• The pres. & Congress went against the Constitution • Went against freedom of speech• If A. & S. acts are passed=Supreme Court say unconstitutional• Court wasn’t very strong

The Sedition & Alien Acts•VA & KY wrote resolves saying the laws are unconstitutional• Jefferson wrote the KY resolve & Madison wrote the VA resolve

• Said that the states should have the pwr. to say if a law was unconstitutional or not

•Most Americans wanted to get rid of the A. & S. laws

•MA wrote a resolve saying that states had agreed to the Constitution & it was not up to the states to decide if a law was unconstitutional or not

Our Gov’t•Our gov’t is still trying to work out their issues

• 1803-The Supreme Ct. had the right to say if a law was unconstitutional or not

• 3 branches of our gov’t were setup to stop too much pwr.

• In the beginning the Supreme Court was weak, but then John Marshall was appointed the Chief Justice