ABSTRACT
The Sedition Act of 1798 was signed into law by the Federalist Party when there was fear of war in France and to prevent their rival political party, the Democratic-Republicans, from speaking out against and criticizing the Federalist party, which could result in legal ramifications, including fines and jail time. The Sedition Act was and remains an example of unconstitutional legislature that undermined the spirit of the Constitution and the First Amendment guaranteeing Americans the freedom of speech, expression and press. The Act was hypocritical and defied the principles that the United States was founded upon. It made it impossible for those who opposed them to freely speak, discuss or contradict in any way that the government deems inappropriate, regardless of constitutional rights. It attempted to stifle the press so that the message of their opposition could not reach the masses. It is laws like these that caused so many immigrants to leave their homelands behind to seek a life in the United States. The Sedition Act of 1798 was entirely unconstitutional by any definition of the First Amendment.
There have been many different laws, policies and acts put into practice within the United States, some of them have remained since the countries first origins, and others have been reformed, while others have been eliminated all together. That has been the historical nature of American politics. As the countries ethics, goals, philosophies and ideologies change so to the laws and policies of the United States also evolved. One of the more controversial acts put into practice goes back to the late 1700s was the Sedition Act. There was and continue to be debate as to whether the Sedition Act was valid constitutionally speaking or did it fail to meet the standard of constitutional standards established in the early United States. After reviewing the available information it become clear that the Sedition Act of 1798 was unconstitutional and threatened the security of the United States and the freedom of its people for three distinct reasons, including that it defies the people’s First Amendment rights of speech, press and is wholly hypocritical given the freedoms defined by the Constitution.
In the late 1700s the Unites States was fearful of war in France and felt that it was not a time for vast political change, which was becoming a possibility. The Federalist Party had been dominant for some time; however, in these years the Democratic-Republicans were gaining favor. The Federalist, which included members like President John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, believed in government control factors, were opposed to supporting civil war in France and were not in favor of many of the Democratic-Republicans and their antithetical perspectives (United States History Organization 1). The Democratic-Republicans, which included members like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, wanted smaller government, supported civil war across the ocean and did not encourage favoring Britain’s interests over France. The conflicts between the two parties made the Federalist fearful of Democratic-Republican propaganda and influence they developed a means of attempting to overpower the Democratic-Republican Party. The Federalist’s drafted the Sedition Act was signed in action by President John Adams with belief that it was protecting the United States and that the act was necessary (Lash and Harrison 435). The Sedition Acts of 1798 was not signed into law alone; it was joined by the Alien Acts, as well. The four were enacted at the same time and met with a great deal of argument.
Naturalization Act: This Alien Act decreed that no resident immigrant would be allowed citizens hip unless they had live in the United States for at least 14 years; prior to this it had only been five years (Smith 1).
Alien Act: The President and the government had the right to judge and detain any immigrants that are believe to pose a threat to the “safety and peace” of the United States may order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States to depart (Smith 1).
Alien Enemies Act: In a time of war or invasion by outside forces, the United States government has the authority to apprehend, detain, restrained and remove anyone if they are from the countries currently considered an enemy. Male immigrants over the age of fourteen could be deported if it is so determined that the persons are a threat (Smith 1).
Sedition Act: The Sedition Act itself was added decreeing that any person that discredit, disparage or oppose the government out loud, in print and other dialogue that may be perceived as being negative toward the government could be punished. If convicted of this could result in high fines and possible five years in prison (Smith 1).
Sedition Act was passed it was immediately met with criticisms, claims that the legislature is unjust and directly defies the First Amendment rights that are intended or all citizens equally. The First Amendment is always a hot topic, because it is always being debated., What qualifies as freedom of speech, what qualifies as freedom of the press and what constitutes ones right to expression and when does not it not. Unfortunately, after review the details and explanation of the Sedition Act clearly is a violation the First Amendment rights and therefore undermines the spirit that the new country, the United States of American was formed to begin with (Smith 1).
Freedom of Speech & Expression: Freedom of speech is one of the rights available to all in Americans and one that is prized by the American people. This was no less true in the 1700s than it is today. That said when the Sedition Act was passed it immediately brought complaint and protest. However, according to the Act, to disagree with the government, to speak out against policies and practices and doing anything that does not regularly praise and support the government could be perceived as illegal, subject to fines and jail time (Smith 1). This undermines the Constitution rights of Americans to speak up and speak out.
Freedom of Press: The freedom of the press is another one of the prized aspects of American life. Journalist and the magazine, news and internet organizations they represent may have the right to present that information from all viewpoints or favor one over another. People are not required to agree; that is part of that First Amendment right. The Sedition Act defied those ideologies (Smith 1). No one can interfere with the press’s right to inform the public and no one can interfere with people being exposed to all sides of an issue so they can decide for themselves how they feel about the given subject matter.
Freedom of Expression: In the modern world American has taken the extent of freedom of expression, whether it is one’s religious beliefs, political views and personal style. At the same time they know that their right to do so is protected and they cannot be penalized for believing differently, looking differently or thinking differently. However, once the Sedition Act was in place that changed that reality and worked to oppress the Democratic-Republican Party (Smith 1).
The Sedition Act literally existed as a slap in the face to the newly formed and infant America. The Constitutional rights and freedoms were some of the most progressive of its time. It created a society with the potential for equality and an escape from tyrannical governments and extreme levels of government control. The United States established itself as a country that would be free of that type of government and the legal control factors used to coerce, intimidate and influence how people behaved (Library of Congress 1). By stating that any form of verbal forms of criticism against the government unacceptable then how can the people speak their mind. America’s purpose was to be a “peoples” government, not another government that forces its population to conform with the potential for punishment if they do not. These are kinds of laws and policies that many who founded and immigrated to the United States were trying to escape. The constitution established the First Amendment, freedom of speech, specifically to give the people a voice; the Sedition Act was intended to silence those voices (Martin 117-118).
The aspects of the Sedition Act was damaging to the citizens freedom of press, as well. There are many countries throughout history that have taken control over the information that can be shared with the general public. We have seen examples in Nazi Germany and Communist China. In these countries the people were oppressed and the press was unable to question or criticize the government or the state of their societies. This was something that the United States Constitution was designed to prevent. The people would have access to all sides of a story, even those that may not always reflect well upon the current government and political party (Smith 1). The Federalists, with the President, at the party’s head, in affect took efforts to silence the press from spreading the message of the Democratic-Republican Party that was gaining more and more supporters. The Sedition Act was intended to silence a movement and maintain the Federalist’s political control (Belt 1). Again this is exactly what the First Amendment freedom of the press is meant to address.
The Sedition Act represents a huge example of hypocrisy in the United States government. There is no doubt that the Federalists supported freedom of speech, press and expression when those speeches, articles and expressions are in agreement with their cause and supports their interests. However, once the words, works and actions are contrary to their interest and they become a threat to the powers that be (Library of Congress 1). Something that the Federalists thought was important enough to defy the Constitutional rights of the Unites States people and make any differing opinions, criticisms and commentary essentially illegal. This is entirely hypocritical. It is not constitutional and it is a very poor attempt to lessen the freedoms of the United States.
Perhaps it was simply the general support for the Democratic-Republican Party or it could have been due to the Federalists unconstitutional Sedition Act intended to silence opposition, regardless the Democratic-Republican Party would prevail in 1801 when Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson was elected President of the United States and the government was no longer under Federalist control. Within a short time the Sedition Act was simply allowed to expire later that same year (Smith 1).
America was a country of immigrants that chose to develop a new government, a just government and one with freedoms that had been denied to the citizens of other nations all across the globe. The idea of liberty and freedom inspired people to fight for their freedom from Britain’s political and monarchal controls. The same liberty and freedom led the men, many of the Federalist Party, to develop a Constitution that would guarantee the freedoms and liberties for all Americans. When the Federalist’s signed the Sedition Act into law it was directly intended to prevent those very freedoms that they had fought to achieve (Belt 4). The Sedition Act was without question is a direct threat to the people’s freedom of speech, expression, press and was hypocritical in nature and was entirely unconstitutional.
The ability to think what one wishes and to share those opinions with others and the general public is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution for all Americans. It is something that is taken very seriously in a diverse modern world. It is these freedoms that have inspired war to defend them, movements to make it more unified nation and made the United States a beacon of hope for many immigrants then and today. That being said anything that interferes in those rights must never be supported and allowed to flourish. The Federalists may never have imagined that they would face opposition in the new American nation by differing parties and ideologies; therefore freedom of speech, press, expression would never need to be silenced. When the Democratic-Republicans became a problem for them they passed the Sedition Act in hopes of curbing these freedoms of the First Amendment that could be a threat to their power. The Constitutional is the foundational document that the United State is built upon and anything that unethically and hypocritically impacts those freedoms, then they are unconstitutional. There is no question that the Federalist’s actions were a complete and wholly unconstitutional attempt to silence a portion of the American people.
WORK CITED
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Martin, James P. "When Repression is Democratic and Constitutional: The Federalist Theory of
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