Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson and his Jeffersonians would not take the Alien and Sedition Acts lightly. Jefferson feared that if the Federalists were able to take away some constitutional garuantees, they would be able to take away others. Fearing this, Jefferson "penned a series of resolutions which Kentucky legislature approved in 1798 and 1799. Virginian James Maeison drafted a similiar but less extreme one which was adopted by Virginian legislature in 1798.
James Madison
Both of these resolutions had a theory behind them. The concept was that the thirteen sovereign states, in creating a federal government, had signed a compact regarding its jurisdiction. Jefferson's Kentucky resolution concluded that the fed. gov't had crossed the line and nullification of the Alien and Sedition Acts was neccessary.
However, other state legislatures did not accept Jefferson's resolution saying that the people had made the orignal compact and that it was up to the Supreme Court to "nullify unconstitutional legislation passed by Congress".
The Resolutions were mainly used as a way to create more opposition against the Federalists and nullify their abuses for the upcoming presidential election.
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