Alien and sedition acts analysis

      The Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of acts passed in 1798 by the U.S. Government under the Federalist party. The federalists generally supported a stronger central government and loosely interpretted the constitution in order to pass laws they deemed necessary. The Alien and Sedition Acts gave the government the power to deport or imprison aliens and to fine or imprison those who spoke "libel" against the government. This caused great controversy because it violated the rights of the people to free speech. The federalist party often used these acts in order to imprison those who spoke out against their political beliefs so that they could remain fairly unopposed. The acts seem to primarily rely on pathos. They describe the actions done that would result in imprisonment as malicious or harmful to the general good of the people or that aliens would be involved in endangering peace and harming the government yet provide no real logos appeals to back up their claims. They do use logos however by stating the exact punishments for violating these crimes, which would deter people from committing acts through logic; they would not want to face the objective punishment given. The main ethos claim is that the speakers are the house of representatives, senators, and it is signed by the president; this shows officials elected by the people making the laws.