Books > History > American history
|
Buy Now
The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 - Testing the Constitution (Paperback)
Loot Price: R521
Discovery Miles 5 210
|
|
The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 - Testing the Constitution (Paperback)
Series: Witness to History
(sign in to rate)
Loot Price R521
Discovery Miles 5 210
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
|
In May 1798, after Congress released the XYZ Affair dispatches to
the public, a raucous crowd took to the streets of Philadelphia.
Some gathered to pledge their support for the government of
President John Adams, others to express their disdain for his
policies. Violence, both physical and political, threatened the
safety of the city and the Union itself. To combat the chaos and
protect the nation from both external and internal threats, the
Federalists swiftly enacted the Alien and Sedition Acts. Oppressive
pieces of legislation aimed at separating so-called genuine
patriots from objects of suspicion, these acts sought to restrict
political speech, whether spoken or written, soberly planned or
drunkenly off-the-cuff. Little more than twenty years after
Americans declared independence and less than ten since they
ratified both a new constitution and a bill of rights, the acts
gravely limited some of the very rights those bold documents had
promised to protect. In The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, Terri
Diane Halperin discusses the passage of these laws and the furor
over them, as well as the difficulties of enforcement. She
describes in vivid detail the heated debates and tempestuous
altercations that erupted between partisan opponents: one man
pulled a gun on a supporter of the act in a churchyard; congressmen
were threatened with arrest for expressing their opinions; and
printers were viciously beaten for distributing suspect material.
She also introduces readers to the fraught political divisions of
the late 1790s, explores the effect of immigration on the new
republic, and reveals the dangers of partisan excess throughout
history. Touching on the major sedition trials while expanding the
discussion beyond the usual focus on freedom of speech and the
press to include the treatment of immigrants, Halperin's book
provides a window through which readers can explore the meaning of
freedom of speech, immigration, citizenship, the public sphere, the
Constitution, and the Union.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
You might also like..
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.