The more controversial one was the Sedition Act, which punished anyone who published or spoke "false of maliciousaE things about the government. This law became an almost symbol of aristocracy or tyranny while the Federalists convicted 25 Republicans under this law. Eventually, the Supreme Court endorsed the Republican view that under the First Amendment the absolute freedom of speech and press were granted and thus the expression of public opinion toward the government wasn't a crime. The Alien and Sedition Acts expired quietly, and with this incident showed that the federal government was not only powerful, but the check and balance could effectively keep the government from corruption.
A year before the Whiskey rebellion, war broke out in Europe between France and England. Washington was convinced that the US should remain independent of Europe, and so he issued a proclamation of American neutrality. However, neither the French nor the British respected the American neutrality, and both started to seize American ships trading with the other side, and in addition, the British impressed American