0:03 George Washington's successor was his
0:05 Vice President John Adams of
0:08 Massachusetts in earlier years Adams had
0:11 been a strong voice for Liberty but as
0:13 president one of his first acts was a
0:17 damaging blow to American freedom in
0:19 1798 amidst heightened concern for
0:22 National Security Congress passed the
0:25 Alien and Sedition bills sending them to
0:28 president Adams for his signature the
0:30 alien bill made it difficult for people
0:33 to become US citizens and allowed the
0:35 president to throw any foreigners he
0:38 wanted out of the country the Sedition
0:41 bill went even further it made it a
0:43 crime for Americans to criticize their
0:47 government Thomas Jefferson was outraged
0:49 if this goes down we shall immediately
0:52 see another act of Congress declaring
0:53 that the president shall continue an
0:57 office for life it is an experiment to
0:59 see how far Americans will bear
1:01 violation of the
1:04 Constitution one man who could not bear
1:06 such violation was Congressman Matthew
1:09 Lion of Vermont lion was an independent
1:13 man wild and possessing a hot temper
1:15 once he publicly attacked another
1:18 Congressman with fireplace tongs now he
1:20 said president Adams was acting like a
1:24 king and should be sent to a mad house
1:26 president Adams has a continual grasp
1:28 for power and an unbounded thirst for
1:31 pump men of real Merit are daily turned
1:33 out of office for no cause other than
1:34 independence of
1:37 sentiment under the Sedition Act lion
1:40 got arrested and convicted and sent to
1:42 jail in the Wilds of
1:44 Vermont Congress and the president had
1:47 done something the Constitution said
1:49 they couldn't do they were restricting
1:52 freedom of speech and of the press and
1:57 Americans didn't like it in 1800 amidst
1:59 widespread opposition to the Alien and
2:01 Sedition Acts Thomas Jefferson was
2:04 elected the country's thirdd president
2:06 he called his victory a
2:09 revolution the Revolution of 1800 was as
2:11 real as that of
2:14 1776 not affected indeed By The Sword
2:16 but by the rational and Peaceable
2:19 instrument of Reform the suffrage of the people
