Simone Lawson
Between 1798 and 1865, the US Constitution was violated in several ways. One of the earliest violations was the Sedition Act of 1798, which permitted the deportation, fining, or imprisonment of anyone deemed a threat to or publishing false, scandalous, or malicious writing against the government. This act was a clear violation of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and press. During this period, the US also faced the constitutional issue of reconstruction after the Civil War, including questions about the constitutional relationship of the states that had attempted to secede and the national government's powers to protect citizens' rights. The Constitution was further violated with the Corwin Amendment, proposed in 1861, which aimed to protect slavery and other domestic institutions of the states from constitutional amendment and interference by Congress. It was ratified by five states but never became part of the Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, but it took the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) to prohibit denying any US citizen the right to vote based on sex.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Violations of the Constitution | The Sedition Act of 1798 |
| --- | The act made it a crime to "write, print, utter, or publish ... false, scandalous, and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States" |
| --- | Violation of the First Amendment's freedom of speech and press |
| --- | Fugitive Slave Clause and other protections of slavery |
| --- | Violation of civil liberties |
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What You'll Learn
- The Sedition Act of 1798: criminalising criticism of the government, violating freedom of speech and press
- Fugitive Slave Clause: failed to abolish the slave trade, protecting slavery
- States' rights: criticism of the federal government's power, advocating for state sovereignty
- Congressional power: states' rights advocates opposed Congressional power over state legislatures
- First Amendment: Adams' Sedition Act violated freedom of speech and press, per the First Amendment
The Sedition Act of 1798: criminalising criticism of the government, violating freedom of speech and press
The Sedition Act of 1798 was one of the first tests of freedom of speech in the United States. The Act criminalised the publication of "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the US government, Congress, or the President, permitting the deportation, fining, or imprisonment of anyone deemed a threat. The Act was passed by a narrow majority in Congress (44-41), with Federalists championing the legislation due to fears of an impending war with France and a desire to retain power.
At the time, freedom of the press was still a relatively new concept in the US, and newspapers were openly partisan, serving as political parties' chief organs. The Republican press, in particular, launched scathing attacks on the Federalists and the Adams administration, accusing him of being a "'closet' monarchist" and wanting a "hereditary presidency". In response, Federalist newspapers accused Thomas Jefferson of being an atheist and planning to confiscate Bibles.
The Sedition Act was signed into law by President John Adams on July 14, 1798, and was immensely unpopular with the public. It was one of four laws known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts, which sought to restrict immigration and limit First Amendment protections for freedom of speech on national security grounds. The Act was passed in preparation for an anticipated war with France, as the Federalist Party believed that Democratic-Republican criticism of Federalist policies was disloyal and feared that non-citizens living in the US would sympathise with the French during a war.
The prosecution of journalists under the Sedition Act, such as Benjamin Franklin Bache of the Philadelphia Aurora, who was the first to be arrested under the Act, rallied public support for the opposition Democratic-Republicans and contributed to their success in the 1800 election. The Act was never appealed to the Supreme Court, and it eventually expired on March 3, 1801, after Thomas Jefferson took office. However, the debates surrounding the Act shaped subsequent discussions about constitutional protections of free speech.
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Fugitive Slave Clause: failed to abolish the slave trade, protecting slavery
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It states that a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave) who escapes to another state must be returned to their master. This clause, while not mentioning "slave" explicitly, formed the basis for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which gave slaveholders the legal right to capture their escaped slaves. This Act was one of the many constitutional compromises made to accommodate slavery.
The Fugitive Slave Clause failed to abolish the slave trade and protected slavery by providing a legal framework for slaveholders to retrieve their escaped slaves. It was a significant impediment to the abolition of slavery and a major point of contention at the Constitutional Convention. The clause was proposed by South Carolina delegates Charles Pinckney and Pierce Butler, who argued that fugitive slaves should be "delivered up like criminals". This proposal was opposed by James Wilson of Pennsylvania and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, who likened the retrieval of fugitive slaves to that of horses.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was further strengthened by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which was passed in response to the growing number of escapes and the establishment of safe havens like Cass County, Michigan. The Act made it a requirement for officials and citizens of free states to cooperate in capturing escaped slaves and returning them to their owners. It also penalized officials who failed to comply and made it easier for enslavers to recapture their escaped slaves by requiring law enforcement to arrest suspected fugitives based solely on the enslaver's sworn testimony.
The Fugitive Slave Clause and the Fugitive Slave Acts failed to abolish the slave trade and protected slavery by ensuring that escaped slaves could be legally recaptured and returned to their enslavers. This was a significant violation of the rights and freedoms of enslaved people and a barrier to their pursuit of freedom. The clause and the acts also contributed to the growing polarization of the country over the issue of slavery, leading to the start of the American Civil War.
It was not until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery except as a punishment for criminal acts, that the Fugitive Slave Clause became mostly irrelevant and unenforceable. This amendment rendered the clause and the associated acts obsolete, finally abolishing the legal protection of slavery and ensuring the freedom of those who had escaped.
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States' rights: criticism of the federal government's power, advocating for state sovereignty
The concept of states' rights, rooted in Thomas Jefferson's interpretation of the US Constitution, asserts that the US government's power is derived from the individual states, which voluntarily formed a union. This perspective, influenced by British philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke's "social contract" theories, was articulated in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798-1799, drafted by Jefferson and James Madison. These resolutions emerged in response to the Federalist-backed Alien and Sedition Acts, which authorised the federal government to restrict immigration and penalise certain types of speech, particularly from newspapers supporting the Democratic-Republican Party.
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, passed by Virginia in 1798 and Kentucky in 1799, asserted a state's right to nullify or reject federal laws deemed contrary to its interests. This stance was later echoed during the Nullification Crisis (1828-1832) when South Carolina attempted to overrule a federally imposed tariff, and Vice President John C. Calhoun endorsed his home state's efforts. Similarly, during the Secession Crisis (1860-1861), several Southern states, including South Carolina and Virginia, seceded from the Union rather than accept Abraham Lincoln as president.
In the 1850s, states' rights became a malleable philosophy, employed by both Northerners and Southerners to advance their sectional interests. Southern politicians accepted federal power when it protected slavery but challenged federal attempts to regulate slavery's expansion into new territories. The Compromise of 1850, intended to ease sectional tensions, included the Fugitive Slave Act, which sparked protests from Northern abolitionists and defensive reactions from pro-slavery Southerners.
The expansion of federal power during the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II further impacted states' rights. The Seventeenth Amendment altered the balance of power by depriving state governments of direct representation in the US Senate. Additionally, the case of Wickard v. Filburn allowed the federal government to enforce the Agricultural Adjustment Act, asserting jurisdiction over agriculture's impact on interstate commerce.
Critics argue that the federal government's expansion of power has upset the traditional balance between states and the federal government, with the federal government exercising power at the expense of states' rights.
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Congressional power: states' rights advocates opposed Congressional power over state legislatures
Between 1798 and 1865, the United States Constitution was violated by the Federal government on multiple occasions, with states' rights advocates opposing Congressional power over state legislatures.
The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, including the infamous Sedition Act, were seen as violations of the First Amendment's freedom of speech and press. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, called on state legislatures to nullify these unconstitutional federal laws, arguing that states were the last resort for determining the constitutionality of Congressional legislation. This set a precedent for states' rights advocates to oppose Congressional power.
In 1800, John Adams, seeking reelection, faced intense criticism from his challenger's supporters, who accused him of authoritarian impulses, including trampling on constitutional rights. This highlighted the ongoing tension between federal power and states' rights.
The Tariff of 1828, passed by Congress, benefited the northern states but was detrimental to the South. In response, South Carolina's Nullification Ordinance declared the tariff null and void within the state, initiating the Nullification Crisis. This was another instance of states' rights advocates challenging Congressional power, asserting their authority to nullify federal laws deemed detrimental to their interests.
The Fugitive Slave Law, the Dred Scott decision, and the annexation of Texas by joint resolution were also seen as violations of states' rights, as they centralised power and prioritised the interests of slaveholders. These actions further eroded the memory of states' rights as they existed in 1789, with slavery requiring centralised control to maintain and protect itself.
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was later deemed to have exceeded Congressional enforcement power under the Fourteenth Amendment, as it applied to private establishments rather than acts done by states. This ruling reaffirmed the importance of states' rights and the limited scope of Congressional power in certain instances.
Overall, between 1798 and 1865, states' rights advocates repeatedly opposed Congressional power over state legislatures, citing violations of the Constitution and asserting their authority to nullify federal laws that infringed on their rights and interests. These tensions between federal power and states' rights shaped the political landscape of the United States during this period.
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First Amendment: Adams' Sedition Act violated freedom of speech and press, per the First Amendment
The Sedition Act of 1798, signed by President John Adams, made it a crime for anyone to "write, print, utter, or publish [...] false, scandalous, and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States," the Congress, or the President. This act was a clear violation of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and press.
At the time, freedom of the press was still a relatively new concept in the United States. However, the Act's authors saw it as a necessary response to the intense partisanship of the 1790s, particularly the scathing attacks launched by Republican editors on John Adams' policies. The Act specifically targeted Adams' opponents, the Jeffersonian Republicans, aiming to suppress dissent and criticism of the government at a time when war with France seemed imminent and Adams' reelection was uncertain.
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other critics of the law argued that the Act was unconstitutional. Madison, in particular, asserted that the federal government was a "compact to which all states were parties," and that states had the power to block the implementation of federal statutes that assumed powers not explicitly delegated to the national government under the compact. Jefferson and Madison anonymously wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, declaring the Act as a violation of the First Amendment.
The Sedition Act resulted in the conviction of over two dozen people, mostly opposition publishers. It was highly unpopular and contributed to Adams' defeat in the 1800 election, with Thomas Jefferson winning in part because of the public's opposition to the Act. Once in office, Jefferson pardoned those convicted under the Act, which expired on his inauguration day.
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Frequently asked questions
The Sedition Act of 1798 was signed into law by John Adams and permitted the deportation, fining, or imprisonment of anyone deemed a threat to or publishing "false, scandalous, or malicious writing" against the government of the United States. This was a clear violation of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and press.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It rendered several parts of the original Constitution inoperative, as it granted Congress the power to enforce abolition.
The Corwin Amendment, proposed in 1861, aimed to shield "domestic institutions" of the states, including slavery, from constitutional amendment and interference by Congress. This violated the principles of equality and freedom by attempting to preserve slavery and prevent its abolition.
President Johnson was impeached due to a crisis in legislative-executive relations during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Johnson's supporters argued that secession had merely "suspended" the operation of legal governments in the South, and that as commander-in-chief, he had the duty to reanimate state governments under war powers. This violated the constitutional balance of powers and the principle of checks and balances.
The Reconstruction Amendments granted citizenship and voting rights to former slaves, ensured equal protection under the laws, and prohibited states from violating citizens' privileges or depriving them of life, liberty, or property without due process. These amendments corrected previous violations of the Constitution by guaranteeing equal rights and protections for all citizens.
