Sedition Pros And Cons

The act of Sedition, defined as “a revolt or an incitement to revolt against established authority, usually in the form of Treason or Defamation against the government” dates back to the late 1500s. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides protection of free speech, therefore the number of seditious act actually prosecuted are rare. Yet, sedition remains a crime under 18 U.S. Code § 2384. This federal statute was created to punish seditious conspiracy and outlaw advocating the overthrow of the federal government by force. Established in SCHENCK v. U.S., (1919), to qualify for prosecution, the seditious act must include statements that “create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that
engaged in naval hostilities with France, Alexander Hamilton and congressional Federalists took advantage of the public fears that arose from the conflict. Without first consulting with President John Adams, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The first three of the four acts dealt with the rights of immigrants. The fourth act, the Sedition Act, was in direct violation of the Constitution. As the Constitution was written, it guaranteed the freedom of speech and “the Sedition Act permitted the prosecution of individuals who voiced or printed what the government deemed to be malicious remarks about the president or government of the United States.” The conflict that arose from the passing of the Sedition Act led Thomas Jefferson and James Maddison to declare the acts to be in direct violation with the First and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution. As a result, Jefferson and Madison drafted the Virginia and Kentucky Resolves. The Resolves, drafted in 1798 and 1799, were political statements made by Virginia and Kentucky legislatures backing the unconstitutionality of the Sedition Acts. The Resolves declared the states had the right and the duty to identify the Constitutional violations made by Congress and declare the acts unconstitutional. Prior to the Resolves, and the expiration of the Sedition Act, fourteen people, primarily journalist, were prosecuted under the Sedition Act. Several of the fourteen were also
Libel laws referred to the written and published rather than spoken defamation or representation of a person. At the time, Libel laws were generally used to prosecute those in opposition of or critical of slavery. After the Civil War, Libel laws were abolished, however, “Congress enacted seditious conspiracy laws before the Civil War aimed at persons advocating secession for the United States.” The seditious conspiracy laws were early versions of the sedition laws in the U.S.