Good Example Of Essay On Alien And Sedition Acts Analysis

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Abstract
This is a brief analysis of the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts and the response to them from Jefferson and Madison in the Virginia Resolution. There is analysis of the justifications for the Alien and Sedition Acts and the basis upon which the Virginia Resolution argues against them. There is consideration of circumstances in which governmental press freedom might be justified.
Supporters of these acts believed that impending war with France justified strong measures to promote national harmony and remove internal threats to domestic security. Fostering insurrection, riot and unlawful assembly as well as “false, scandalous, and malicious” writings against the United States government were unlawful. For the times, punishment was severe: up to two thousand dollars and two years imprisonment. Truth remained an acceptable defense for these charges but the jury determined both the law and the fact of libel charges. The law expired in 1801 (U.S. National Archives).
Six months after passage, on Christmas Eve, the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures passed resolutions opposing the laws. The Virginia Resolution argued that these laws could be used to punish and stifle all criticism of government and its officers. The document acknowledged the sovereignty of the federal government but claimed a constitutional infraction with the 1798 acts that subverted “general principles of free government,” and assumed powers not delegated by the Constitution. It reminded readers that the First Amendment to the Constitution protected “free communication among the people” and infraction of this essential right could lead to other constitutional abuses. It called for rescinding the laws (Constitution Society).
I cannot envision circumstances in which there would be a need for the government to limit freedom of the press as in the Alien and Sedition Acts. Most acknowledge temporary limits on press freedoms may be necessary to protect U.S. security. However, current federal regulations authorize new government powers without adequate constitutional safeguards for personal or national security. History teaches us that once given, sweeping powers of search, surveillance and press restrictions often are difficult to rescind and may be subsequently used in unanticipated ways to suppress legitimate dissent and criticism. It would be too easy to trample civil liberties and press freedoms in hopes of somehow ensuring domestic security. This would be a serious loss to hard-fought American freedoms. We must never dismantle the Constitution in hopes of better security at home and abroad.

References

U.S. National Archives. (n.d.). Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) [Data file]. Retrieved
Constitution Society. (n.d.). Virginia Resolution of 1798 [Data file]. Retrieved