In the years following the American Revolutionary War, American citizens, created the Articles of Confederation. However, after realizing that the Articles gave too much power to the government, American leaders decided to assemble a Constitution. The Constitution was ratified in 1787, and would later include a Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791, that would give citizens basic rights such as freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion. However, between 1781 and 1800 these rights were taken from the common people to a great extent; the government enacted the Revenue Act of 1789, the beginning of 1789, the beginning of the electoral college in 1787, and the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.
After the Revolutionary War, America was faced with …show more content…
The Alien Acts were a series of oppressive laws that were meant to reduce the power of Jeffersonian foes, and silence anti-war opposition. These laws increased the residence requirement from 5 years to 14 years and gave the president power to deport or imprison "dangerous" foreigners. The sedition Acts, put in place by John Adams, were to prevent people from "bad mouthing" the government. These laws stated that anyone who impeded the policies the of government or falsely defamed its officials would be liable to a heavy fine and imprisonment. This law was a direct violation of the 1st amendment, freedom of speech, which is taking away an important power of American citizens. The founding fathers of America fought the Revolutionary War to escape a system of full government control, to give power to the citizens. Yet, the government has slowly taken away this power of the citizens ever since, by imposing Acts that violate the Bill of Rights or reducing the strength of a common person’s vote. Americans envisioned a national government with explicit and restricted responsibilities, which pertained mainly to domestic tranquility. The founders of the nation did not create a Department of Education or Department of Housing and Urban Development. This was not an accident, they just never imagined a National government taking an active role in these activities. Nevertheless, they birthed the beginning of strong government control, economically, socially, and
After the Revolutionary War, America was faced with …show more content…
The Alien Acts were a series of oppressive laws that were meant to reduce the power of Jeffersonian foes, and silence anti-war opposition. These laws increased the residence requirement from 5 years to 14 years and gave the president power to deport or imprison "dangerous" foreigners. The sedition Acts, put in place by John Adams, were to prevent people from "bad mouthing" the government. These laws stated that anyone who impeded the policies the of government or falsely defamed its officials would be liable to a heavy fine and imprisonment. This law was a direct violation of the 1st amendment, freedom of speech, which is taking away an important power of American citizens. The founding fathers of America fought the Revolutionary War to escape a system of full government control, to give power to the citizens. Yet, the government has slowly taken away this power of the citizens ever since, by imposing Acts that violate the Bill of Rights or reducing the strength of a common person’s vote. Americans envisioned a national government with explicit and restricted responsibilities, which pertained mainly to domestic tranquility. The founders of the nation did not create a Department of Education or Department of Housing and Urban Development. This was not an accident, they just never imagined a National government taking an active role in these activities. Nevertheless, they birthed the beginning of strong government control, economically, socially, and