What was the Sedition Act?

A. an act that made it a crime for anyone to publicly criticize the government or its officials

B. an act establishing United States foreign policy

C. an act that gave the president the right to deport aliens

D. an act guaranteeing freedom of speech

The answer is A. The Sedition Act made it a crime for anyone to cast the government into a negative light. Note that the Sedition Act was first passed 1798, during a time when the United States was at war with France. For fear that those sympathetic with the enemy may cause public unrest through spoken criticism of the government, the Sedition Act was purposed to stunt to free speech. Meanwhile, the Sedition Act would be re-enacted later in history during times of war, such as in 1918, during World War I. The purpose, therefore, was to lessen the danger of public unrest during times of war by silencing those critical of the government. Therefore, B and D have nothing to do with the Act and the act described in C is known as the Alien Act.