sedition

Examples of sedition in the following topics:

• The Alien and Sedition Acts

  • The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a series of laws that aimed to outlaw speech that was critical of the government.
  • Republican editors, Representative Matthew Lyon, and private individuals were targets of prosecution under the Sedition Act.
  • Many of those convicted under the Sedition Act were pardoned by President Jefferson after the election of 1800.
  • The most controversial arrest made under the Alien and Sedition Acts was of a member of Congress.
  • Thomas Jefferson, upon assuming the presidency, pardoned all of those still serving sentences under the Sedition Act, and in 1802, the House Judiciary Committee denounced the Sedition Act as unconstitutional and authorized the refund of penal fines that victims had paid.

• The "Reign of Witches"

  • The "Reign of Witches" was a descriptive catchphrase used by Democratic-Republicans to criticize the Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts.
  • "The Reign of Witches" is a termed used by Democrat-Republicans to describe the Federalist party and John Adams after the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
  • In addition to the Alien and Sedition Acts, Democratic-Republicans cited the increasing size of a standing army, the Quasi-War with France, and a general expansion of federal power as evidence of the Federalists' corrupt designs for the United States.
  • The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress, in the midst of the French Revolution and the undeclared naval war with France, the Quasi-War.
  • The Alien and Sedition Acts were codified attempts by the Federalists to protect the United States from the anarchy of the French Revolution and from those seditious elements seeking to undermine the federal government.

• Civil Liberties in Wartime

  • Congress used the Espionage and Sedition Acts to stamp out war opposition by curbing civil liberties.
  • The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 temporarily trumped Americans' rights to religious freedom and to freely speak, publish, or petition the government.
  • Supreme Court upheld the Espionage and Sedition Acts in the 1919 case, Abrams v.
  • Congress repealed the Sedition Act on December 13, 1920, although those convicted under the law continued to serve their prison terms.
  • Critique the Alien, Sedition, and Espionage Acts in terms of their effects on civil liberties.

• Sunset Laws

  • The Sedition Act of 1798 was a political tool used by John Adams and the Federalist Party to suppress opposition that contained a sunset provision.
  • John Adams and his Federalist Party used a sunset provision in the Sedition Act of 1798 to ensure that the Sedition Act would cease once Adams was out of office.

• Pursuing Both War and Peace

  • The petition was rejected, and in August 1775, A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition (or the Proclamation of Rebellion) formally declared that the colonies were in rebellion.
  • In August 1775, upon learning of the Battle of Bunker Hill, King George III issued a Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition.

• The Adams Presidency

  • The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the fifth U.S.
  • After the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, Democratic-Republicans began to use the term "the reign of witches" to describe the Federalist party and John Adams.

• A New Nation

  • The decisive event that signaled the collapse of the Federalist party was the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts during the presidency of Federalist John Adams.
  • The Alien and Sedition Acts were denounced by Democratic-Republicans as a direct assault on freedom of speech and the right to organized legislative opposition to the current administration.
  • Such resistance to the Alien and Sedition Acts mobilized a great deal of opposition among the electorate, resulting in Adams's defeat in the 1800 election and the first Democratic-Republican presidential administration under Thomas Jefferson.

• Freedom of the Press

  • In 1798, not long after the adoption of the Constitution, the governing Federalist Party attempted to stifle criticism with the Alien and Sedition Acts.
  • The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 imposed restrictions on free press during wartime.

• Freedom of Assembly and Petition

  • During the 1790s, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, punishing opponents of the Federalist Party; the Supreme Court never ruled on the matter.
  • During World War I, individuals petitioning for the repeal of sedition and espionage laws were punished—again, the Supreme Court did not rule on the matter.

• Domestic Turmoil During the Adams Presidency

  • During the Quasi-War, Adams and Congress passed the Naturalization Act on June 18, 1798, as part of the broader Alien and Sedition Acts.
  • At the time, most immigrants (namely Irish and French) supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans in the domestic outcry over the Alien and Sedition Acts.