USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The resolutions opposed the federal Alien and Sedition Acts, which extended the powers of the federal government. They argued that the Constitution was a “compact” or agreement among the states. Therefore, the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it.

Detailed explanation-2: -Drafted in secret by future Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the resolutions condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional and claimed that because these acts overstepped federal authority under the Constitution, they were null and void.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were state responses to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. They nullified the Alien and Sedition Acts and claimed the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional.

Detailed explanation-4: -The resolutions argued that the federal government had no authority to exercise power not specifically delegated to it in the Constitution.

Detailed explanation-5: -Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, (1798), in U.S. history, measures passed by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky as a protest against the Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts.