John Adams Alien And Sedition Act

John Adams

“Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases”(“brainyquote”) .John Adams should be awarded the Lifetime achievement award for his astonishing time in office. Adams contributed to the establishment of the Library of Congress. He also contributed in writing the Declaration of Independence, the XYZ affair, the Stamp Act and the Alien and Sedition Acts (“Biography in Context”). John Adams was born on October 30, 1735. He was born in Quincy, Massachusetts. John Adams received his Bachelors and Masters degree at Harvard University (Bio.com) . John Adams was admitted to the bar in 1758. As an attorney, he was involved in town affairs. He also wrote

One thing he did was create the Alien and Sedition acts. The Alien and Sedition acts were made up of four laws. These were passed when America was getting ready for the war with France. These laws were made to weaken the Democratic-Republican Party. This act actually helped the Democratic-Republican Party win the election in the 1800’s(“American History”).The Alien and Sedition act were passed by Congress in 1798 and signed by John Adams. These acts made it extremely hard for immigrants to vote. Before this act, the immigrants would have to live at least 5 years in the United States. Now because of this act they have raised it to 14 years in order for immigrants to vote. The federalists saw foreigners as a threat to American security. This act also did not allow public opposition towards the government, which means that there could be no signs of hatred towards the United States government or else you could be arrested. During this time period, 20 people were arrested for speaking against the government(“The Alien and Sedition

The Stamp Act was a law that required all colonial residents to pay a stamp tax on every printed paper including bills, legal documents, contracts, advertising, and more. The Stamp Act was introduced to Boston in 1765. On November 1st, 1765, the law was enforced. The colonists were very mad about this act because they thought it was unfair. The colonists showed their discontent with the act by putting on violent protests. Many colonists were throwing stones through windows and destroying furniture(“The Stamp Act”). Colonists also burned the stamps once they arrived, and attacked the house of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson. Because the Stamp Act affected all colonial residents, not only was it violent but for the first time the colonists proved their economic power by boycotting British goods and resisting paying their debts. Adams was cautious with his involvement in the Stamp Act. He was worried it would damage his reputation. On March 18, 1766, the Stamp act was repealed. Adams celebrated its repeal but he had doubts about the colonies political future(“Stamp Act and the Beginning of Political