In June and July 1798 Congress passed four laws that together are known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Naturalization Act, passed in June, raised the residency requirement from 5 to 14 years for immigrants wanting full U.S. citizenship. The Alien Act gave the president the authority to expel any alien, or non-U.S. citizen, suspected of disloyalty to the United States. The Alien Enemies Act allowed the president to arrest, imprison, or expel any foreigners from "enemy" nations, during a time of declared war. The Sedition Act made it illegal for U.S. citizens to defame the president or to publish "any false, scandalous and malicious writing" against the U.S. government. The Sedition Act also made it a crime for citizens to prevent a federal officer from executing his duties. When Federalist-controlled Congress passed these laws, a threat of war with France existed. However, the Federalists in Congress primarily used the new laws to attack Republican opponents and to limit criticism of John Adams’s presidency. Of the 25 people prosecuted under the Sedition Act, the 10 who were convicted were Republican editors and printers. To condemn the acts, Republicans Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which asserted the right of states to reject federal laws that state legislatures voted unconstitutional. Neither Kentucky nor Virginia, however, actually obstructed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The acts were repealed or expired between 1800 and 1802.
