MAKING OF A NEW NATION 1776 1800
PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS FROM ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS TO XYZ AFFAIR
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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The acts limited the amount of power delegated to each branch of government.
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The acts redefined the powers of the legislative branch.
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The acts clarified the role of the Supreme Court.
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The acts permitted the government to deny citizens’ rights in time of war.
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Detailed explanation-1: -As a result, a Federalist-controlled Congress passed four laws, known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws raised the residency requirements for citizenship from 5 to 14 years, authorized the president to deport “aliens, ” and permitted their arrest, imprisonment, and deportation during wartime.
Detailed explanation-2: -In one of the first tests of freedom of speech, the House passed the Sedition Act, permitting the deportation, fine, or imprisonment of anyone deemed a threat or publishing “false, scandalous, or malicious writing” against the government of the United States.
Detailed explanation-3: -Jeffersonian-Republicans countered that the Sedition Act violated the First Amendment because it stifled legitimate criticism of the government, shutting down freedom of speech and the press. The act also violated the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, in Jefferson’s view.
Detailed explanation-4: -Drafted in secret by future Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the resolutions condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional and claimed that because these acts overstepped federal authority under the Constitution, they were null and void.