The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, also known as the Virginia and Kentucky Resolves, were passed in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts. Though often mentioned as a pair in modern historical discussions, they were actually two separate documents. The Kentucky Resolutions (plural) were written by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Kentucky legislature on November 16, 1798. The Virginia Resolution (singular) was written by James Madison and passed by the Virginia legislature on December 24, 1798. Jefferson and Madison collaborated on the writing of the two documents.
The resolutions attacked the Federalists' interpretation of the Constitution, which extended the powers of the federal government over the states. The resolutions declared that the United States Constitution only established an agreement between the central government and the states and that the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it; should the federal government assume such powers, its acts under them would be void. It was the right of the states to decide as to the constitutionality of such acts.
The resolutions were submitted to other states for approval but with no real result. Their importance lies in that they were later considered to be the first statements of states' rights theory and led to the concepts of nullification and interposition. They were also later used by the Confederate States of America to justify their secession from the Union during the American Civil War.
The Virginiaresolutions were prepared by Madison, who was then a member of the legislature, were introduced by John Taylor, of Caroline, were passed by the house Dec. 21, 1798, and were passed by the senate and approved by the governor, Dec. 24.
The resolutions were transmitted by the governors of the two states to the governors of the other states, to be laid before their respective legislatures.
Jefferson, not being the avowed author of the Kentuckyresolutions, has left no defense or explanation of them, but a line of citations is given among the authorities at the end of this article, illustrative of his adherence to the general position that "the states" (in national convention) were the final interpreters of the constitution.
Kentucky and VirginiaResolutions, in U.S. history, resolutions passed in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were enacted by the Federalists in 1798.
The resolutions declared that the Constitution merely established a compact between the states and that the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it under the terms of the compact; should the federal government assume such powers, its acts under them would be unauthoritative and therefore void.
The resolutions were submitted to the other states for approval with no real result; their chief importance lies in the fact that they were later considered to be the first notable statements of the states' rights theory of government, a theory that opened the way for the nullification controversy and ultimately for secession.
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