Logos, Pathos, and Ethos...Kind of.

The purpose of rhetoric is to make an argument, and a law isn't an argument. It's what happens after an argument.

In this case, the argument was the election of 1796, which gave the presidency and a majority in Congress to the Federalists. The Federalists, in turn, decided that aliens and sedition were dangers, and since the Democratic-Republicans already lost the argument, the Federalists made some laws.

How the Federalists came to decide they needed them and sell them to the public involves all three branches of logic. You start with pathos. Specifically, the writers of the law were focusing on fear. It's a powerful emotion and one of the best ways to get people to agree to something they might otherwise not agree to. Adams and his allies used the fear of war with France as well as a generalized xenophobia, to push the laws through.

There's also an implied sense of ethos to the laws themselves, especially the Naturalization Act. Each law assumes that those enacting it are in a loftier position than those who will be hurt by it. In essence, they are, since they have the ability to deprive those people of rights. No easier way to tell who's in charge, really.

Lastly, the laws are laid out using logos. Once the premises are accepted, then the argument can be laid out more dispassionately. If these aliens are causing trouble, doesn't it make sense to be able to deport them or lock them up? If sedition is undermining our ability to fight France, shouldn't we crack down on it?

The logic does a good job at hiding what, frankly, are some pretty nasty parts of America's past. Except for the Alien Enemies Act. That's still a part of America's present.