Eugene The Eclectic Wiccan's blog: "Same Old Song and Dance"

One of the favorite slogans of politicians today is to Invoke our 'Founding Fathers' into today's political environment. Kinda like the 'What Would Jesus Do' arguments. Well, Myth has once again overtaken reality. The Truth is that by the Mid 1790's 1/2 the country wanted to Lynch the other 1/2 - and Visa Versa - Kinda Like Today. Or Rather JUST LIKE TODAY - Ya, That's my point here. The following relates to a little bit of American History that most people NEVER heard about: The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 which OUTLAWED CRITICISM OF THE GOVERNMENT as a means of enhancing NATIONAL SECURITY. Sound Familiar? Wouldn't George Bush and Chaney LOVE to have this kind of Power?

The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws passed by the Federalists in the United States Congress in 1798 during the administration of President John Adams, which was waging an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. Proponents claimed they were designed to protect the United States from alien citizens of enemy powers and to stop seditious attacks from weakening the government. The Democratic-Republicans (lead by Thomas Jefferson), like later historians, attacked them as being both unconstitutional and designed to stifle criticism of the administration, and as infringing on the right of the states to act in these areas. They became a major political issue in the elections of 1798 and 1800. One act (the Alien Enemies Act) is still the law in 2007, and has frequently been enforced in wartime. The others expired or were repealed by 1802. Thomas Jefferson held them all to be unconstitutional and void, and pardoned and ordered the release of all who had been convicted of violating them. The Sedition Act says anyone "opposing or resisting any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States" could be imprisoned for up to two years. It was also illegal to "write, print, utter, or publish" anything critical of the president or Congress. It was notable that the Act did not prohibit criticism of the Vice-President. Jefferson held the office of Vice-President at the time that the Act was passed, leaving him open to criticism under the new law. There has been considerable debate over the meaning and interpretation of the Sedition Act. It is clear that American jurisprudence regarding the freedom of speech at some point broke from earlier British law, which held that speech was an act that could be "seditious" regardless of its truth or veracity, and that free speech could be limited based on governmental priorities. For example, the Democratic-Republicans and a number of moderate Federalists successfully added language to the Sedition Act that, by its terms, required "a false, scandalous and malicious writing," pointing to the trial of John Peter Zenger, which established that colonial courts might treat truth as a defense to libel. However, many Federalist judges did not interpret the law consistently with this reading, and there is an ongoing historical debate — highly relevant in particular to originalist interpretations of the First Amendment and to the question of whether the Sedition Act was unconstitutional — as to when and the extent to which the break with British precedent occurred. There were actually four separate laws making up what is commonly referred to as the "Alien and Sedition Acts": 1. The Naturalization Act (official title: An Act to Establish an Uniform Rule of Naturalization) extended the duration of residence required for aliens to become citizens, from five years to fourteen. Enacted June 18, 1798, with no expiration date, it was repealed in 1802. 2. The Alien Friends Act (official title: An Act Concerning Aliens) authorized the president to deport any resident alien considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States." These acts were created in fear of French sympathizers. At the time, war was considered likely between the US and Revolutionary France. Enacted June 25, 1798, with a two year expiration date. 3. The Alien Enemies Act (official title: An Act Respecting Alien Enemies) authorized the president to apprehend and deport resident aliens if their home countries were at war with the United States. Enacted July 6, 1798, with no expiration date, it remains in effect today as 50 U.S.C. § 21-24. 4. The Sedition Act (official title: An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States) made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government or its officials. Enacted July 14, 1798, with an expiration date of March 3, 1801.

External links

• Library of Congress - Alien and Sedition Acts and Related Resources
• Full Text of Alien and Sedition Acts
• Full Text of Alien Enemies Act
• Full Text of Sedition Act