Lesson 51: Alien and Sedition Act

The Alien and Sedition Acts were made up of four laws:
1. "The Naturalization Act lengthened from five to fourteen years the residency requirement for citizenship."
2. "The Alien Enemies Act allowed the president to expel aliens in wartime."
3. "The Alien Act authorized the president to deport or imprison all aliens whom he considered dangerous to the safety of the United States."
4. "The Sedition Act prohibited antigovernment activity. It was illegal to publish or even speak any false, scandalous, and malicious criticism of government officials."
 These acts made the colonists angry with the government because they believed that it was an abuse of power.
 In 1798, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both created resolutions that said these acts did not follow the Constitution, but none of the states approved the resolutions except for Kentucky and Virginia.