Changes

==Background==

==Background==

The Alien and Sedition Acts was passed by Congress in 1798 during the undeclared [[Quasi War]] with France (called the "Quasi War" because it was not officially declared). The acts made a federal crime to criticize the government, and restricted aliens. [[Enemy aliens]] (that is foreigners owing loyalty to a country at war with the U.S.) could be rounded up by the president; this latter authority is still in effect in 2007.  The [[Federalist Party]] passed the act, warning of the dangers of French subversion. [[Jeffersonian Republicans]] complained the laws were not needed and that their friends and allies were the target.  Jefferson at one point drafted a threat for Virginia to secede, but dropped it from the text. In January 1800, the Virginia General Assembly passed the "Report of 1800", a document by Madison affirming the principles of the Resolutions and responding to criticism they had received.

The Alien and Sedition Acts was passed by Congress in 1798 during the undeclared [[Quasi War]] with France (called the "Quasi War" because it was not officially declared). The acts made a federal crime to criticize the government, and restricted aliens. [[Enemy aliens]] (that is foreigners owing loyalty to a country at war with the U.S.) could be rounded up by the president; this latter authority is still in effect in 2007.  The [[Federalist Party]] passed the act, warning of the dangers of French subversion. [[Jeffersonian Republicans]] complained the laws were not needed and that their friends and allies were the target.  Jefferson at one point drafted a threat for Virginia to secede, but dropped it from the text. In January 1800, the Virginia General Assembly passed the "Report of 1800", a document by Madison affirming the principles of the Resolutions and responding to criticism they had received.

==The Resolutions==

==The Resolutions==

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison secretly collaborated in writing different resolutions of protest.<ref>The authorship of Jefferson and Madison remained secret for years.</ref> These were given to allies and passed by the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky, but other states refused to pass similar resolutions.  Indeed, several states denounced the resolutions as unconstitutional.  Both resolutions not only condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional They went to claim that individual states could nullify federal laws deemed to be unconstitutional. Madison's Virginia Resolutions, which pronounced the [[compact theory]], were relatively milder in terms than Jefferson's Kentucky Resolutions, which explicitly stated states' rights to [[nullification]].

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison secretly collaborated in writing different resolutions of protest.<ref>The authorship of Jefferson and Madison remained secret for years.</ref> These were given to allies and passed by the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky, but other states refused to pass similar resolutions.  Indeed, several states denounced the resolutions as unconstitutional.  Both resolutions not only condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional They went to claim that individual states could nullify federal laws deemed to be unconstitutional. Madison's Virginia Resolutions, which pronounced the [[compact theory]], were relatively milder in terms than Jefferson's Kentucky Resolutions, which explicitly stated states' rights to [[nullification]].

The Alien and Sedition Acts either expired or were repealed from 1800 to 1802, after Jefferson was elected to the presidency.

The Alien and Sedition Acts either expired or were repealed from 1800 to 1802, after Jefferson was elected to the presidency.

==Rejection==

==Rejection==

The resolutions were submitted to other states for approval but with no success. In [[New Hampshire]], newspapers treated them as military threats and replied with sinister foreshadowings of civil war. "We think it highly probable that Virginia and Kentucky will be sadly disappointed in their infernal plan of exciting insurrections and tumults," proclaimed one. The other states legislature's unanimous reply was blunt:  

The resolutions were submitted to other states for approval but with no success. In [[New Hampshire]], newspapers treated them as military threats and replied with sinister foreshadowings of civil war. "We think it highly probable that Virginia and Kentucky will be sadly disappointed in their infernal plan of exciting insurrections and tumults," proclaimed one. The other states legislature's unanimous reply was blunt:  

The Resolutions joined the foundational beliefs of Jefferson's party and were used as party documents in the 1800 election and became central to the "Old Republicans."   

The Resolutions joined the foundational beliefs of Jefferson's party and were used as party documents in the 1800 election and became central to the "Old Republicans."   

==Historical significance==

==Historical significance==

The Resolutions later became landmark documents supporting the concept of [[states' rights]]. They were invoked during the [[Nullification Crisis]] of 1832 by [[John C. Calhoun]] to justify [[South Carolina]]'s nullification of the federal tariff. The ideas underlying the Resolutions also influenced the Southern secession in the 1860s, which resulted in the [[American Civil War]]. The underlying ideas were decisively rejected during the Civil War and did not resurface afterwards.

The Resolutions later became landmark documents supporting the concept of [[states' rights]]. They were invoked during the [[Nullification Crisis]] of 1832 by [[John C. Calhoun]] to justify [[South Carolina]]'s nullification of the federal tariff. The ideas underlying the Resolutions also influenced the Southern secession in the 1860s, which resulted in the [[American Civil War]]. The underlying ideas were decisively rejected during the Civil War and did not resurface afterwards.

==Primary Sources==

==Primary Sources==

* Koch, Adrienne. ''Jefferson and Madison: The Great Collaboration'' (1950), ch. 7.

* Koch, Adrienne. ''Jefferson and Madison: The Great Collaboration'' (1950), ch. 7.

* Watkins, William. ''Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy'' (2004), a tract praising the resolutions

* Watkins, William. ''Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy'' (2004), a tract praising the resolutions

[[Category:United States History]]

[[Category:United States History]]