Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

views updated Jun 27 2018

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (1798 and 1799) Declarations of states' rights. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson (Kentucky Resolutions) and James Madison (Virginia), they expressed opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They denied the right of the federal government to exercise powers not granted it by the constitution and declared that states had the right to judge the constitutionality of federal acts.

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