11. Use the information to answer the question that follows. In July 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act. This law punished with fines or imprisonment anyone
convicted of publishing or saying publicly anything judged to be false or hostile about the government or
public officials. Ten people were convicted under the Sedition Act, but Congress did not renew the law
when it expired in 1801.
What best explains one reason why many people criticized the Sedition Act?
A. Limiting freedom of the speech and of the press threatened democracy.
B. The punishments for conviction were considered to be cruel and unusual.
C. Its focus on speech and the press meant that other disloyal acts went unpunished.
D. Only the Supreme Court had power to convict people for speech and press violations.