The Alien and Seditions Act, passed in 1798, caused great controversy. This legislation consisted of four laws: (1) the Naturalization Act, which increased the required period of residence for would-be citizens from five to fourteen years; (2) the Alien Friends Act, which gave the president the power to remove from the country outsiders he deemed “dangerous”; (3) the Alien Enemies Act, which gave the president the power to deport those aliens who were from countries at war with the United States; and (4) the Sedition Act, which made it a crime to make “false, scandalous and malicious” writings against the government. Many—including Vice President Thomas Jefferson—opposed these laws as an invasion of state rights and a violation of individual freedoms. For example, many believed that the Sedition Act of 1798 violated the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and press.