188 The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

History, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2018

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws enacted by the United States government in 1798. The United States passed these laws during a time of great uncertainty, a time when many Americans feared for the very survival for their nation. But why did Americans fear for the United States’ existence and why did they think four laws that limited citizenship and freedom of speech would protect and secure their young republic? Terri Halperin, an instructor at the University of Richmond and author of The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798: Testing the Constitution, will help us find answers to these questions by taking us through the Alien and Sedition Acts and how they came to be. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/188 Send Liz your questions about early American history for Episode 200! Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Children of Uncertain Fortune (Use promo code 01DAH40 to save 40 percent) Complementary Episodes Episode 007: John Adams and the Adams Papers Documentary Editing Project Episode 017: François Furstenberg, When the United States Spoke French Episode 052: Ronald Johnson, Early United States-Haitian Diplomacy Episode 076: Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, Citizen Sailors: Becoming American in the Age of Revolution Episode 165: The Age of Revolutions Episode 167: Eberhard Faber, The Early History of New Orleans Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ben Franklin's World is a production of the
0:02.5	O'Mohandro Institute.
0:04.0	Welcome to Ben Franklin's World,
0:07.5	podcast about early American history with Liz Covert.
0:11.5	The study of history is key to understanding who we are and how we can
0:15.2	affect the better future. Ben Franklin's world will introduce you to historical
0:19.9	people and events that have impacted and shaped our present day world.
0:24.4	And now here's your host, Liz Koval.
0:27.1	Hello and welcome to episode 188 of Ben Franklin's world,
0:32.2	the podcast dedicated to helping you, learn more about how the people
0:36.2	and events of our early American past have shaped the present day world we live in.
0:40.3	Okay, so this is an episode you've been asking me for. It's an episode all about the
0:46.1	Alien Insaddition Acts. Now the Alien Insaddition Acts consisted of four laws enacted in
0:51.5	1798. There were laws that were born out of a time of
0:54.8	great uncertainty for the young United States, a time when Americans were
0:58.8	really uneasy and felt really anxious about the ability of the United States to maintain its independence.
1:05.6	But why did Americans fear for their nation's continued existence as an independent nation
1:10.6	during the 1790s? And why did they think that four laws designed to place
1:15.6	limits on citizenship and freedom of speech would protect them and make their
1:20.1	young republic a more secure place.
1:22.8	To answer these questions, we're going to turn to Terry Halperin, because she's a historian who can
1:28.0	really take us through the Alien and Sedition Acts, and how and why they came to be.
	...

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