Sedition Acts Of 1798 Dbq
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The Sedition Acts of 1798 prohibited citizens from publicly criticizing the United States government, president, or federal officials. The laws were created to expel disloyal aliens and to suppress dissent from citizens across the country. The law was politically motivated mainly through the Federalists fear that aliens of the United States would support France in their naval war; conversely, the Republicans, led by Vice-President Jefferson, believed that this was a way to give the Federalists, under the leadership of President Adams, with a reason to silence their American iconoclasts. During the time of this act, many things had led up to this point due to American relations with Britain and France. French and American relations were at