Definition
The Alien Act, also known as the Alien Friends Act of 1798, was a Federalist measure that gave the President power to deport any “alien” he considered dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States or suspected of secret actions against the Government. Passed during the crisis in Franco-American relations after the XYZ Dispatches, it applied to “alien friends” rather than “alien enemies.” Democratic-Republicans challenged its constitutionality, but President John Adams signed it into law on June 25, 1798. The law expired after two years.
Facts
- Also Known As: Alien Friends Act of 1798, Alien Friends Law of 1798.
- Date Enacted: June 25, 1798.
- President: John Adams.
- Part of: Alien and Sedition Acts (1798–1799).
- Significance: The Alien Act is important to American History because it contributed to the downfall of the Federalist Party in the Presidential Election of 1800.
Origins
- The Alien Act was introduced in the Senate by the Federalist Party amid debates over immigration and national security, as tensions with France increased during the XYZ Affair.
- Congress considered the measure while the House of Representatives worked on the Alien Enemies Bill.
Provisions
- The Alien Act gave the President the authority to deport any foreigner he considered “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.”
- It also allowed the President to deport any foreigner he suspected of “treasonable or secret machinations against the Government.”
- The Federalists passed the Alien Act due to fears that the crisis with France, following the release of the XYZ Dispatches, might not lead to a formal declaration of war.
- It gave the Executive Branch power over “friends,” meaning people from countries that were not at war with the United States.
- The Fifth Congress was also moving to give the President similar authority over “alien enemies” from nations at war with the United States.
Controversy
- Democratic-Republicans in Congress argued that the Alien Act gave too much decision-making power to the Executive Branch.
- Despite this, President John Adams signed the bill into law on June 25, 1798.
Effects
- The Federal Government did not deport anyone under this law.
- Even so, several well-known foreigners left the United States to avoid possible removal.
- Thomas Jefferson and James Madison criticized the Alien and Sedition Acts in their drafts of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798.
- Public backlash against the Alien and Sedition Acts contributed to the Democratic-Republican victory in the Presidential Election of 1800.
Expiration
- The Alien Act expired after two years.
- Federalists made no effort to renew or extend the law.
AP US History
Alignment
The Alien Act is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:
- Launching the New Ship of State (1789–1900)
- Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic (1800–1812)
- Shaping the New Republic (APUSH 3.10)
Vocabulary
Adams Presidency (1797–1801) — The Presidency of John Adams was from March 4, 1797, to March 3, 1801. He was elected as the Second President of the United States in the Presidential Election of 1796. He ran for a second term in 1800, but was unsuccessful, losing to Thomas Jefferson. During his four years in office, Adams was plagued by a political rivalry with Alexander Hamilton, a falling out with Thomas Jefferson, and political intrigue with France.
XYZ Affair (1797–1800) — The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic scandal between the United States and France that led to an undeclared naval war known as the Quasi-War. The XYZ Affair played a significant role in shaping American foreign policy and domestic politics, and contributed to the political divide that eventually led to the Civil War.
Quasi-War (1798–1800) — The Quasi-War was an undeclared naval war between the United States and France during the Presidency of John Adams. It grew out of the XYZ Affair and ended when French politics changed direction after Napoleon came into power and the two nations signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine.
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) — The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress and signed by President John Adams, intended to reduce foreign influence in the United States and public criticism of the government. However, the laws were controversial and contributed to the Democratic-Republican Party’s rise to power in 1800.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798–1799) — The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Resolutions established the concept of Nullification.
Nullification — Nullification is the idea that a state can void a federal law. It was developed as part of John C. Calhoun’s South Carolina Exposition and Protest (1828). Calhoun based some of his reasoning on the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1788–1799), and Nullification became a critical issue during the Nullification Crisis (1832–1833) and South Carolina’s threat to secede from the Union.
Appendix
History
AHC Note — This short history of the Alien Friends Act is adapted from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Passed in preparation for an anticipated war with France, the Alien and Sedition Acts tightened restrictions on foreign-born Americans and limited speech critical of the government.
In 1798, the United States stood on the brink of war with France. The Federalist Party, which advocated for a strong central government, believed that Democratic-Republican criticism of Federalist policies was disloyal and feared that “aliens,” or non-citizens, living in the United States would sympathize with the French during a war.
As a result, a Federalist-controlled Congress passed four laws collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws raised the residency requirements for citizenship from five to 14 years, authorized the president to deport “aliens,” and permitted their arrest, imprisonment, and deportation during wartime. The Sedition Act made it a crime for American citizens to “print, utter, or publish…any false, scandalous, and malicious writing” about the government.
The laws were directed against Democratic-Republicans, the party typically favored by new citizens. The only journalists prosecuted under the Sedition Act were editors of Democratic-Republican newspapers.
Sedition Act trials, along with the Senate’s use of its contempt powers to suppress dissent, set off a firestorm of criticism against the Federalists and contributed to their defeat in the election of 1800, after which the acts were repealed or allowed to expire. The controversies surrounding them, however, provided for some of the first tests of the limits of freedom of speech and the press.
Transcript
AHC Note — The following is the full text of the Alien Friends Act of 1798.
FIFTH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
At the Second Session,
Begun and held at the city of Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, on Monday, the thirteenth of November, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven.
An Act Concerning Aliens.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States at any time during the continuance of this act, to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States, within such time as shall be expressed in such order, which order shall be served on such alien by delivering him a copy thereof, or leaving the same at his usual abode, and returned to the office of the Secretary of State, by the marshal or other person to whom the same shall be directed. And in case any alien, so ordered to depart, shall be found at large within the United States after the time limited in such order for his departure, and not having obtained a license from the President to reside therein, or having obtained such license shall not have conformed thereto, every such alien shall, on conviction thereof, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and shall never after be admitted to become a citizen of the United States. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that if any alien so ordered to depart shall prove to the satisfaction of the President, by evidence to be taken before such person or persons as the President shall direct, who are for that purpose hereby authorized to administer oaths, that no injury or danger to the United States will arise from suffering such alien to reside therein, the President may grant a license to such alien to remain within the United States for such time as he shall judge proper, and at such place as he may designate. And the President may also require of such alien to enter into a bond to the United States, in such penal sum as he may direct, with one or more sufficient sureties to the satisfaction of the per- son authorized by the President to take the same, conditioned for the good behavior of such alien during his residence in the United States, and not violating his license, which license the President may revoke, whenever he shall think proper.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, whenever he may deem it necessary (for the public safety, to order to be removed out of the territory thereof, any alien who mayor shall be in prison in pursuance of this act; and to cause to be arrested and sent out of the United States such of those aliens as shall have been ordered to depart therefrom and shall not have obtained a license as aforesaid, in all cases where, in the opinion of the President, the public safety requires a speedy removal. And if any alien so removed or sent out of the United States by the President shall voluntarily return thereto, unless by permission of the President of the United States, such alien on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned so long as, in the opinion of the President, the public safety may require.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every master or commander of any ship or vessel which shall come into any port of the United States after the first day of July next, shall immediately on his arrival make report in writing to the collector or other chief officer of the customs of such port, of all aliens, if any, on board his vessel, specifying their names, age, the place of nativity, the country from which they shall have come, the nation to which they belong and owe allegiance, their occupation and a description of their persons, as far as he shall be informed thereof, and on failure, every such master and commander shall forfeit and pay three hundred dollars, for the payment whereof on default of such master or commander, such vessel shall also be holden, and may by such collector or other officer of the customs be detained. And it shall be the duty of such collector or other officer of the customs, forthwith to transmit to the office of the Department of State true copies of all such returns.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the circuit and district courts of the United States, shall respectively have cognizance of all crimes and offences against this act. And all marshals and other officers of the United States are required to execute all precepts and orders of the President of the United States issued in pursuance or by virtue of this act.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any alien who may be ordered to be removed from the United States, by virtue of this act, to take with him such part of his goods, chattels, or other property, as he may find convenient; and all property left in the United States by any alien, who may be removed, as aforesaid, shall be, and re- main subject to his order and disposal, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That this act shall continue and be in force for and during the term of two years from the passing thereof.
Jonathan Dayton, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
TH. Jefferson, Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.
I Certify that this Act did originate in the Senate.
Attest, Sam. A. Otis, Secretary
APPROVED, June 25, 1798.
John Adams
President of the United States.
