Constitutional Differences Between Virginia And Kentucky Resolutions

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions are political statements created by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, for the purpose of opposing the US Constitution at that time known as the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. The Jeffersonian Republicans strongly attacked this move through the Kentucky Resolution which declared that the Constitution merely established an agreement of unity between the states. Due to this fact, the federal government had no right to exercise powers not found under the terms of this compact or agreement. These resolutions, likewise, grants the right to decide as to the constitutionality of such acts to the states and not to the federal government. If and when the federal government assumed such powers, these acts would

Constitution; 3) Jefferson and Madison agreed through their drafted resolutions that the alien bill was a threat by the Federalists intended for foreign-born supporters of the Republican party in the sense that the alien bill was creates to suppress the Republican press and media.; 4) philosophical-wise, both agreed that the alien bill served as the teeth of the constitution and a violation of the rights protected by the first amendment; 5) both resolutions are very influential statements; and 6) both The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions did not earn many support from the people of the fourteen states. There was no reaction from four states while the rest of the ten states expressed outright disapproval.
The difference between the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions are: 1) Jefferson used bolder language than Madison while Madison’s are more tamed or temperate; 2) Jefferson through his Kentucky Resolutions stated that the acts of the federal government when it assumes undelegated powers are un-authoritative, void and of no force. On the other hand, Madison’s Virginia Resolutions just stated that the states were bound by its duty to interfere whenever the federal government

Not only were the resolutions not acceptable to the other states when they are submitted but they were regarded as military threats. People as well as the federal government believed that the resolutions were foreshadowing civil wars. However, Alexander Hamilton who was then building the army suggested on sending the resolutions to Virginia on the pretext of putting Virginia to the test of resistance. Because of this, Jefferson’s party used the resolutions as the foundation of their beliefs that were then used as the party’s documents in the election held during the 1800s. It also became the most important concept of the Old Republican as these resolutions became the framework that supports the principle of the states’ rights. In addition to this, when John C. Calhoun seek to abolish the federal tariff, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were invoked during the Nullification Crisis. The resolutions also influenced the Southern succession in the 1860s which resulted in the American Civil War. For Jefferson, himself, they have gained three advantages from the resolutions in the following way: one, it showed them the reasoning of the states who rejected the resolutions; two, it acted as a firm protest against the principle of the constitution as well as the president; and three, it express their warm attachment to the union of their sister states which they believed will be