Legal Document

Well, technically, we have four legal documents. That's four for the price of one, folks.

The Alien and Sedition Acts are made up of four different federal laws that get lumped together because they're more or less on the same theme. That theme? Our government is potentially threatened by immigrants and also people who say bad things about us. If these were enacted today, chances are the Supreme Court would strike them down.

How it Breaks Down

All Four Laws

The laws are all structured in a similar way, which makes sense since they were written by the same people. It would be kind of fun if one was written in iambic pentameter just to mess with people, but no such luck.

They're divided up into at least three parts. The first part, which consists of at least one section and sometimes more, is the meat of the law. This says what the law is supposed to do: from now on, no one named Jeff can chew gum after three p.m. on weekdays, for example. Although nowadays, that would be challenged in court, giving us the decision Jeffs vs. Massachusetts (or something).

The second part details how the law is to be enforced. Sometimes there's discussion of specific penalties. Sometimes those penalties are listed in the first part. Mostly, this is the practical discussion of who is arresting whom, and what's going on with this person.

The third part gives the law's lifespan. The Naturalization Act and the Alien Enemies Act didn't have this part, meaning they would be laws until they were either repealed or someone made a law that replaced them. This happened to the Naturalization Act in 1802. It never happened to the Alien Enemies Act. It's still out there.

Naturalization Act

For immigrants to become citizens, they have to wait a little while and declare their intention to do so. This is so anyone visiting doesn't just up and decide to be a citizen. The Naturalization Act increased the wait time from three to five years of residency to declare and from five to fourteen years to actually become a citizen.

Alien Friends Act

Immigrants from countries the United States isn't at war with can be locked up and deported if the president thinks they're dangerous.

Alien Enemies Act

Immigrants from countries the United States is at war with can be unceremoniously locked up or thrown out for any reason whatsoever.

Sedition Act

Remember those pesky First Amendment rights? Yeah, you don't have those anymore.