Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
E65637
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were 1798–1799 political statements drafted by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison that asserted states’ rights to judge the constitutionality of federal laws and opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Aliases (6)
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
constitutional theory document
→
political statement → |
| approvedBy |
Kentucky legislature
→
Virginia General Assembly → |
| asserted |
compact theory of the Constitution
→
state authority to judge constitutionality of federal laws → states’ rights → that states could interpose against unconstitutional federal laws → that states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws → that the federal government is a creation of the states → |
| associatedWith |
Democratic-Republican Party
→
|
| context |
John Adams presidency
→
Quasi-War with France → |
| country |
United States
→
|
| criticized |
federal overreach
→
restrictions on political dissent → |
| dateAdopted |
1798
→
1799 → |
| draftedBy |
James Madison
→
Thomas Jefferson → |
| genre |
legislative resolution
→
|
| hasPart |
Kentucky Resolutions of 1798
→
Kentucky Resolutions of 1799 → Virginia Resolutions of 1798 → |
| historicalPeriod |
Early national period of the United States
→
|
| influenced |
later states’ rights arguments
→
nullification crisis of the 1830s → southern constitutional thought → |
| language |
English
→
|
| location |
Commonwealth of Kentucky
→
Commonwealth of Virginia → |
| mainAuthorOfKentuckyResolutions |
Thomas Jefferson
→
|
| mainAuthorOfVirginiaResolutions |
James Madison
→
|
| motivatedBy |
opposition to Alien and Sedition Acts
→
|
| opposed |
Federalist interpretation of the Constitution
→
|
| opposedLaw |
Alien and Sedition Acts
→
|
| politicalPosition |
opposition to Federalist Party policies
→
support for Democratic-Republican principles → |
| relatedTo |
American constitutional history
→
compact theory → nullification doctrine → states’ rights doctrine → |
| subject |
civil liberties
→
federalism in the United States → freedom of speech → |
| year |
1798
→
1799 → |
Referenced by (8)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Early Republic of the United States
→
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions ("Kentucky Resolutions of 1798") → Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions ("Kentucky Resolutions of 1799") → Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions ("Virginia Resolutions of 1798") → |
hasPart |
|
Alien and Sedition Acts
("Virginia Resolutions")
→
Alien and Sedition Acts ("Kentucky Resolutions") → |
inspiredDocument |
|
Presidency of John Adams
("Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions")
→
|
relatedDocument |
|
First Party System
("Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions")
→
|
relatedEvent |