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The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills that were passed by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798, the result of the French Revolution and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. Authored by the Federalists, the laws were purported to strengthen national security, but critics argued that they were primarily an attempt to suppress voters who disagreed with the Federalist party. The Naturalization Act increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from 5 to 14 years. Because immigrants favored the Democratic-Republicans, their party grew while the growth of the Federalists' was slow.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.crf-usa.org/america-responds-to-terrorism/the-alien-and-sedition-acts.html )〕 The Alien Friends Act allowed the president to imprison or deport aliens considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" at any time, while the Alien Enemies Act authorized the president to do the same to any male citizen of a hostile nation, above the age of 14, during times of war. (At the time, the majority of immigrants supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans, the political opponents of the Federalists.) Lastly, the controversial Sedition Act restricted speech which was critical of the federal government. Under the Sedition Act, the Federalists allowed people, who were accused of violating the sedition laws, to use truth as a defense. The Sedition Act resulted in the prosecutions and convictions of many Jeffersonian newspaper owners who disagreed with the government. The acts were denounced by Democratic-Republicans and ultimately helped them to victory in the 1800 election, when Thomas Jefferson defeated the incumbent President Adams. The Sedition Act and the Alien Friends Act were allowed to expire in 1800 and 1801, respectively. The Alien Enemies Act, however, remains in effect as 50 USC Sections 21–24.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Alien Enemies )〕 During World War II, it was used to detain, deport and confiscate the property of Japanese, German, Italian, and other Axis nation citizens residing in the United States.〔Nakamura, Kelli Y. ("Alien Enemies Act of 1798" ) ''Densho Encyclopedia''. Retrieved July 8, 2014.〕 ==History== The opposition to the Federalists, spurred on by Democratic-Republicans, reached new heights at this time with the Democratic-Republicans supporting France still in the midst of the French Revolution. Some appeared to desire an event similar to the French Revolution to come to the United States to overthrow the government.〔''(Letter to William Smith ), November 13, 1787''〕 When Democratic-Republicans in some states refused to enforce federal laws, such as the 1791 whiskey tax, the first tax levied by the national government, and threatened to rebel, Federalists threatened to send in the army to force them to capitulate.〔Knott. "Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth". p48〕 As the unrest sweeping Europe was bleeding over into the United States, calls for secession reached unparalleled heights, and the fledgling nation seemed ready to tear itself apart.〔 Some of this was seen by Federalists as having been caused by French and French-sympathizing immigrants.〔 The Alien Act and the Sedition Act were meant to guard against this perceived threat of anarchy. They were a major political issue in the elections of 1798 and 1800. They were very controversial in their own day, as they remain to the present day. Opposition to them resulted in the highly controversial Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, authored by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. Prominent prosecutions under the Sedition Act include: *James Thomson Callender, a Scottish citizen, had been expelled from Great Britain for his political writings. Living first in Philadelphia, then seeking refuge close in Virginia, he wrote a book entitled ''The Prospect Before Us'' (read and approved by Vice President Jefferson before publication) in which he called the Adams administration a "continual tempest of malignant passions" and the President a "repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite and an unprincipled oppressor". Callender, already residing in Virginia and writing for the ''Richmond Examiner'', was indicted in mid-1800 under the Sedition Act and convicted, fined $200 and sentenced to nine months in jail.〔Miller, John C. ''Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts'' (New York: Little Brown and Company 1951) pp. 211–220.〕 *Matthew Lyon was a Democratic-Republican congressman from Vermont. The congressman was the first individual that was placed on trial under the Alien and Sedition Acts.〔 He was indicted in 1800 under the Sedition Act for an essay he had written in the ''Vermont Journal'' accusing the administration of "ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation, and selfish avarice". While awaiting trial, Lyon commenced publication of ''Lyon's Republican Magazine'', subtitled "The Scourge of Aristocracy". At trial, he was fined $1,000 and sentenced to four months in jail. After his release, he returned to Congress.〔Miller, John C. ''Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts'' (New York: Little Brown and Company 1951) pp. 102–108.〕 *Benjamin Franklin Bache was editor of the ''Aurora'', a Democratic-Republican newspaper. Bache had accused George Washington of incompetence and financial irregularities, and "the blind, bald, crippled, toothless, querulous Adams" of nepotism and monarchical ambition. He was arrested in 1798 under the Sedition Act, but he died of yellow fever before trial.〔Miller, John C. ''Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts'' (New York: Little Brown and Company 1951) pp. 27–29, 65, 96.〕 *Anthony Haswell was an English immigrant and a printer in Vermont.〔(Anthony Haswell, editor of the Vermont Gazette, jailed for violation of the Alien and Sedition Acts | Bennington Museum – Come and Explore )〕 Among other activities, Haswell reprinted parts of the ''Aurora'', including Bache's claim that the federal government had employed Tories.〔Francis Wharton, State Trials of the United States during the Administrations of Washington and Adams. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1849, pp. 684–687.〕 Haswell was found guilty of seditious libel by judge William Paterson, and sentenced to a two-month imprisonment and a $200 fine.〔Geoffrey R. Stone, Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism, W. W. Norton & Company, 2004, pp. 63–64.〕 *Luther Baldwin was indicted, convicted, and fined $100 for an incident that occurred during a visit by President Adams to Newark, New Jersey.〔Miller, John C. ''Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts'' (New York: Little Brown and Company 1951) pp. 112–114.〕 *In November 1798, David Brown led a group in Dedham, Massachusetts in setting up a liberty pole with the words, "No Stamp Act, No Sedition Act, No Alien Bills, No Land Tax, downfall to the Tyrants of America; peace and retirement to the President; Long Live the Vice President". Brown was arrested in Andover, Massachusetts, but because he could not afford the $4,000 bail, he was taken to Salem for trial. Brown was tried in June 1799.〔 Brown pled guilty but Justice Samuel Chase asked him to name others who had assisted him.〔 Brown refused, was fined $480,〔 and sentenced to eighteen months in prison, the most severe sentence ever imposed under the Sedition Act.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alien and Sedition Acts」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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