Alien And Sedition Acts

With a new system of government came unprecedented decisions, and the decisions to be made about numerous matters created infinite disagreements among the diverse population of America. People were thinking about this new system of democracy, a system that anticipated and called for changes, leaving the future open to concerned minds. With the ability to influence the law of the land came the fear of abuse. Decisions made or ideas presented were seldom view without bias, and quick accusations of right and wrong began as the major split between ideals formed. Parties were forming, and every step of the process made the groups stronger and more narrow minded, as affiliation spread from influencing intellectual and political

aspects to playing a part in the social world as well. The proposed Alien and Sedition Acts appeared to be a simple bill, but considering the growing dissent between the two main groups of the country, the Acts can be analyzed and true purposes and thoughts can become unveiled.

In a world where people now control the government, opinions were the fuel. Things were subjective, there was a questionable amount of land to the west, the diversity of the nation was unlimited, and the Native Americans posed an unstructured and spontaneous threat. The gap was widening between the people, and the though of this new country being split so early troubled some. Thomas Jefferson at first stated that factions were not positive contributors to politics, and he remains unaffiliated so to not influence his relationships and decisions (Document C and E). This is a personal decision of Jefferson's that is not entirely popular or even believable among others. The strong siding that occurred with the Alien and Sedition Acts caused Jefferson to make the choice to side with the democrats, to oppose Hamilton. Hamilton was with his party of the federalist in their entirety since the beginning. He states that the bill he has had his hand in is powerful and exceptional, and that he personally believes it will help strengthen our nation (Document O). The democrat's response to the claims of Hamilton and the federalist's beliefs of possible strengthening effects is to say that it is unconstitutional to give total control to one authority to decide the appropriateness of someone or something, stating that is opposes freedom of speech (Documents P and Q).

The intellectual outlooks and view of the two parties and the people leading them continued to draw apart throughout the duration of this bill, causing social effects as well.

The Federalist Party and the Democratic Party gained speed with every issue and supporter added to their side. So, one of the primary interpreted reasons for the proposition of the Alien and Sedition Acts was to make it harder and more undesirable to become a citizen of this country, because these people generally favored the Democratic Party. Also these people brought diversity, which contained new ideas that could threaten the party with the current majority. The new acts stated that anybody who poses a threat can be easily removed, therefore possibly leading to an overpowering by the majority. George Washington believed that these immigrants cause no threat, and that they would slowly absorb the American way of life (Document A), while Jefferson said that the different people will influence the nation (Document B), but neither person seeks to control and regulate the immigration as Hamilton may have sought in the creation of these