Alien and Sedition Acts
In 1798 the newly established United States of America found itself in a situation where it believed that war with France was imminent. In fact, the "Quasi-War" as it became known, was a situation where the two nations were fighting each other on the seas, but without formal declarations of war. In response to this situation, the Federalist controlled Congress passed a series of four laws which collectively became known as the "Alien and Sedition Acts." While the official purpose of these laws was to safeguard the United States in a time of impending war, they were really meant to weaken those who opposed Federalist policies: the Democratic-Republicans under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson.
The "Alien and Sedition Acts" were four individual acts passed by a Federalist controlled Congress and signed into law by Federalist President John Adams. These acts were the "Naturalization Act," which increased the time of residency necessary for...
Patriot Act and Constitutional Freedom Thomas Jefferson said: 'The price of freedom is constant vigilance.' Unfortunately in a large nation dedicated to the individual freedom and liberty of all its citizens, the only time when the nation learns that is has not been vigilant enough is when a person, or group of persons take advantage of that freedom, and abuse the liberty of others in order to further their own
Patriotic Act Arguments for and against the Patriot Act The unusual events surrounding the creation and passing of the Patriot Act make it a suspect bill in many eyes. However, major media reports like this one: "Fifty-nine percent in an ABC News/Washington Post poll favor continuing the additional investigative authority in terrorism investigations that was granted to the FBI starting in 2001. President Bush urged such an extension of the Patriot Act
limiting free speech ID: 53711 The arguments most often used for limiting freedom of speech include national security, protecting the public from disrupting influences at home, and protecting the public against such things as pornography. Of the three most often given reasons for limiting freedom of speech, national security may well be the most used. President after president, regardless of party has used national security as a reason to not answer
In his Virginia Resolution, Madison maintains that in the aforementioned Alien and Sedition Acts, Congress "exercises a power no where delegated to the federal government," however he does not have an argument against the federal government's power to rule on the constitutionality of its own legislation (Virginia Resolution). Furthermore, Madison maintains the state has power because the states agreed to the Constitution, yet this overlooks the power that the states vested in the federal government by
Marbury v. Madison was a case between William Marbury and James Madison in 1803, which sparked one of the most important decisions made in American history. The case itself has actually enabled the Supreme Court to declare an act of law unconstitutional. Marbury v. Madison also further established the idea of judicial review within the United States, allowing the courts some power in nullifying the decisions of one branch of
In 1942, they were two of the Germans who were picked up by the FBI. Several FBI agents with machine guns entered the H.I. Voss Engineering Company in Bronx, New York, and arrested Alfred Heitmann. This may have been related to the German submarine landing on Long Island, which resulted in a great deal of war hysteria that made many people believe that German spies were everywhere in New
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