legislation...and bias directions." At the time, the US was receiving a mad dash of immigrants and many, like Jefferson, were worried. They were worried that some immigrants would bring some radical political views to America and upset balance of socie

raveling at the seams by means of a major political dissention. Another perspective from which to view these acts is of an opposition. Many people spoke up about these acts due to constitutional conflicts. The Alien and Sedation Acts prohibited the publication of "scandalous and malicious" writings against the government or its officials. This means that the government would have full power to censor the press in any way it felt necessary. That is why so many people opposed the acts with a stiff, and furious hatred. Albert Gallatin states in his speech to the House of Representatives, "If you put the press under any restraint in respect to the measures of members of government; if you thus deprive the people of the means of obtaining information of their conduct, you in fact render their right of electing nugatory; and this bill must be considered only as a weapon used by a party now in power in order to perpetuate their authority and preserve their present places." Gallatin, among other things, meant that if the government can sensor the press, what will stop the news about corrupt politicians from getting loose, thus enabling a better chance for reelection. When so much power is vested in the government what is to stop it from being an operation that is run by the elite for the good of themselves, rather than being run by the people for the good of the people? As the saying goes, drastic times require drastic measures; this applies very well to what happened in 1798. The Alien and Sedation Acts were implemented because of panic due to the XYZ Affair and the French Revolution. Americans were afraid of foreigners coming in and changing the democratic way of life. This was an agreeable fact; that most Americans wanted to stop the influx of radical foreign political ideology from entering the US, but the way this project was undertaken was what created heated dissention. While there were people like Thomas Jefferson, who wanted to stop jeopardizing American Democracy anyway possible, there were also people such as Albert Gallatin, who full heartedly opposed these acts, which saved democracy in the aspect of limiting harmful ideas, also destroyed democracy by allowing the government to put a blindfold over the people's eyes as to completely censor the press. A censored press is very dangerous. That is why the Alien and Sedation Acts of 1798 would be so heatedly debated for years

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1613
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)