Final answer:
The Sedition Act of 1798 severely impacted the election of 1800 by enabling Federalists to suppress Republican critiques, but ultimately it mobilized Republicans to defend free speech, influencing Thomas Jefferson's victory and the end of the Federalist Era.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Sedition Act of 1798 played a crucial role in the partisan debates surrounding the election of 1800. This law was a Federalist response to what they perceived as the threat posed by the Republican press, whose newspapers were critical of the Federalist government. By making it a crime to write, speak, or publish any "false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States", the act sought to stifle dissent and support the power of incumbents.
However, the act backfired as it galvanized the Republicans, including leading figures like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who saw it as an infringement on the First Amendment. They worked through the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures to oppose the Alien and Sedition Acts under the concept of states' rights and nullification. Their campaigning and public opposition contributed to the growing support for the Republican cause and the eventual defeat of John Adams by Thomas Jefferson in the 1800 election, ending the Federalist Era.