220 years ago, Congress passed the first of what would become known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The government argued that these measure became necessary for national security. War with France seemed imminent and 25,000 French refugees came to America. When a group of French scientists wanted to visit the country, President Adams opposed …
My Country – The Virtue of Free Speech On another horrific day where someone shoots people they disagree with, we need to continue to value freedom of speech. A man with a questionable past got a gun and decided to shoot people he disagreed with. Nothing in those actions or that opinion derives itself from …
My Country – Thomas Jefferson and Free Speech On June 13, 1779, Thomas Jefferson wrote an article of faith on free speech. [T]he opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain …
My Country – The Land Ordinance of 1785 On May 20, 1785, the Continental Congress passed a law providing for the surveying and selling of public lands. It provided that Lot 16 of every township should be reserved for the maintenance of public schools. Over the course of our history (up until the writing of An …