mar 20, 1799 - Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

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Although Democratic-Republicans believed the Sedition Act violated the First Amendment, their hands were tied. At the time, judicial review had not been established, so the Supreme Court could not strike down the law. Therefore, they resorted to the state level. In 1799, Kentucky and Virginia passed the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison respectively, that declared that states had the right to nullify federal laws that went against the “compact” they’d submitted to in joining the union. They were the only states that passed such laws, but the impact was still significant. The argument set forth in the resolutions would be used by other politicians years afterward. Not exactly in the same way, however; the power of judicial review was established by Justice Marshall of the Supreme Court in 1803

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