[FirstPrinciple]

I hope you know that the Alien and Sedition Acts were the death-knell for the Federalist Party. The Founders were not immune from mistakes, except they internalized the cost. I bet both political parties will only grow stronger from this.

[justshutupandtakeit]

They were the death knell and part of the reason was the propaganda mileage Jeffersonians got out of opposing them. Rather than being seen as rather trivial and less orneous than the State laws the RAT propagandists where able to convince the ignorant yahoos they were the manifestations of tyranny.

Then Jefferson turned around and had his supporters persecute his critics in State courts where Truth was NOT a defense under the libel laws. Monumental hypocrisy is the only accurate description of this.