Alien and Sedition Acts Criminalize Political Dissent and Democratic Opposition
The Federalist-controlled Congress passes the Alien and Sedition Acts, a set of four statutes that restrict immigration and criminalize criticism of the federal government under the guise of national security during tensions with France. The legislation increases the residency requirement for …
President John Adams
Federalist Party
Secretary of State Timothy Pickering
Democratic-Republican newspaper editors
Congressman Matthew Lyon
democratic-erosion
free-speech-suppression
political-persecution
authoritarian-power
institutional-capture
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