alternatehistory.com

In 1798, the Federalist dominated Congress passed four pieces of legislation, known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws were a reaction to the French Revolution and fears that more radical citizens would attempt to recreate it in America. However, the passage of the Acts proved incredibly controversial. Many of the Democratic-Republicans charged that the law was unconstitutional. During this period of high tensions, Vice President Jefferson and James Madison secretly drafted two pieces of legislation known as the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

Simply put, the papers were Declarations from the Legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional and that the states had the right and the duty to declare unconstitutional any acts of Congress that were not authorized by the Constitution. It argued that the states had the power of nullification.

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions proved even more unpopular than the Alien and Sedition Acts, to the point where ten of the state legislatures voiced official disapproval of them. Jefferson's biographer Dumas Malone has argued that the Kentucky Resolution might have gotten him impeached for treason had his actions become known at the time. Indeed, many modern political scientists have argued that the Kentucky Resolution was, in essence, treason.

So, what if Jefferson's involvement in the Kentucky Resolution is found out? Would Jefferson be impeached and removed from office? Would Congress be able to follow the paper trail to implicate Madison as well?
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