"how did the alien and sedition acts lead to debates over the power of the goverment? "

The Alien and Sedition Acts were laws that limited the freedom of speech of American citizens. These acts, passed under John Adams, stated the following:

1)Citizens cannot write, print, or speak about the government in a negative, lying, or malicious way.

2) The President has the ability to deport any foreigner that could be considered "dangerous."

This leads to debates about whether the federal government has too much power in American society. Along with this, the first amendment right of freedom of speech is debated. This law gave president Adams significant flexibility in controlling what citizens say about his presidency. This amount of control was seen as overbearing by many American citizens.