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John Adams Presidency: Alien and Sedition Acts

Mr. Arnold8th Grade HumanitiesKIPP Impact Middle School

+Do Now

What does the map portray?

What do you know about the Electoral College?

Based on what you see on the map, which states have the most political influence?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiEO1jQcSjc

+What is the Electoral College

John Adams was the first president elected through the electoral college.

The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the president by vote in Congress and election of the President by popular vote of qualified citizens.

The number of electors per state is based off of the individual states’ populations (= to representation)

+Introduction

When the framers of the Constitution created the Electoral College, they imagined that the electors would simply chose the two best leaders for president and vice president. That was how the nation’s first two presidential elections worked. By the third election in 1796, however it was clear that political parties had become part of the electing process.

The Republicans supported Thomas Jefferson for president that year. His support came mainly from the framers in the South and West.

The Federalists supported John Adams, who appealed to lawyers, merchants, ship owners, and business people in the North. When electoral votes were counted John Adams was elected president by just three votes. Jefferson came in second, making him vice president. The nation’s new top leaders were political leaders from opposing parties.

+Alien and Sedition Acts

There were two major acts during his administration that were signed to restore domestic tranquility and preserve the Union, the Acts were pushed through Congress by the Federalist Party in 1798. The goal of the legislation was to

tighten control over immigrants as well as those who criticized the government.

It permitted the deportation of foreign-born residents and the indictment of newspaper editors or writers who published criticism against the government.

+Alien Enemies Act

Specifically the act allowed wartime arrest, imprisonment and deportation of any alien subject to an enemy power.

The Alien Act was for the expulsion of aliens (non-citizens) considered to be dangerous to the government. During wartime it caused

many immigrants to leave the country

+Sedition Act

Described as “An act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States”. The Act declared ant treasonable activity

as well as “any false, scandalous and malicious writing” as punishable by imprisonment.

25 Republican newspaper writers were actually arrested under enforcement of this law and were forced to shut down.

One of them was actually Benjamin Franklin

Americans questions the constitutionality of the laws and publicly protested over their enforcement.

+Was Adams responsible?

Adams played no part in the forming of the acts and also took no steps to enforce them, however he was held responsible for the unpopular measures. He did nothing in terms of the

Acts enforcement.

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created the Republican Party’s opposition to the Acts using the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions