Which of the following did the Alien and Sedition Acts declare criminal?

The Alien and Sedition Acts, enacted in 1798, were a series of laws that aimed to restrict the activities of foreign nationals and limit speech critical of the government. Specifically, the Sedition Act made it a criminal offense to publish false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government or its officials. This was intended to silence opposition and maintain government control during a time of perceived national security threats.

Thus, the act criminalized not only the act of speaking poorly about the government but also extended to written expressions that could be deemed disrespectful or seditious. This was a significant infringement on the First Amendment rights concerning freedom of speech and press, leading to substantial controversy and debate regarding the limits of governmental power in regulating speech.

The other options do not accurately capture the focus of the Alien and Sedition Acts. Public protests, while they could be viewed unfavorably by the government, were not directly criminalized by these acts. Travel abroad was not restricted, and publishing newspapers as a whole was not made illegal; rather, it was the content of those publications that was subject to penalties if it critiqued the government harshly or spread misinformation.