- produced by Hana Georg
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The Smith Act, also known as the Alien Registration Act, was aproved under President Roosevelt, requiring that all non-citizen residents in the United States over 14 years of age report their political beliefs to the government. The Smith Act also made it a criminal offense for anyone in the US to organize, assist, or promote an overthrow of the government. The act was most commonly used by the Supreme Court to prosecute members of the American Communist Party and other left-wing political groups. You'd think a country founded on a revolution would be more sensitive to dissenting voices; maybe then, no one would have the desire to revolt.