Define and explain the purpose of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolution in response to the Alien/Sedition Acts

The 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of laws passed by Congress and signed into law by President Adams. These Alien laws included the ability to new powers to deport immigrants and making it harder for new immigrants to vote (raising the time for residence from 5 years to 14 years). The Sedition Act prohibited public opposition to the federal government. Violators could face fines and/or imprisonment for writing, uttering, printing, or publishing false or malicious writing against the government.

The purpose of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolution (1798/1799) were political statements drafted by Kentucky and Virginia legislatures condemning the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional. The Kentucky Resolution declared that states individually have the power to declare federal laws unconstitutional. The Virginia Acts assert that states have the power to interpose unconstitutional laws.