Were the Alien and Sedition Acts in America's Best Interest?

In 1798, four laws were enacted by the Federalist run U.S. Congress. The four laws were thought to be in response to the hostile actions of the French Revolutionary government on the seas and in the councils of diplomacy, also know as the XYZ affair. This was what people thought the four laws were for, when the real purpose for the passing of them was a plan designed to destroy Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. The two parties were at odds because the Democratic-Republicans had openly expressed its sympathies for the French Revolutionaries when the Federalist Party had a totally different viewpoint on the issue. The Alien and Sedition Acts seemed to be causing more commotion within the United States then there had been before with the French. Both the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans had issues with the other party and these Acts were not helping the situation at all.