WI: Jefferson's Treason Discovered

Please don't confuse my political leanings with the topic of this thread. As much disdain as I hold for Jefferson, him being implicated or being forced to resign would be absolute poison for the Union. Any attempt to impeach him, moreso. The Alien and Sedition Acts may be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever passed in the United States. Furthermore, I hold there is no reason not to discuss the nature of federalism.



My response is that the Resolutions are not merely political statements. They are pieces of legislation approved by the state governments of Virginia and Kentucky declaring acts by Congress unconstitutional. There is a reason Jefferson hid his identity. It would have severely damaged his reputation among the northern states and invited threats from the national government. According to the Alien and Sedition Acts, which is what the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were drafted in reaction to, Jefferson is guilty of sedition. He is acting "with intent to oppose [a] measure or measures of the government of the United States... to impede the operation of any law of the United States".

After further research, it seems extremely unlikely anyone would have pursued such a case against him. I may have been too ambitious in that regard. However, the threat of action (and John Adams wrath) might be enough to force him from the Vice Presidency. This PoD still has consequences. For example, I doubt Jefferson would win New York, whose legislature issued a scathing response to Jefferson's document.

My apologies if I seem like I am beating a dead horse. (Could a moderator, assuming one is reading this, change the title to something less... stupid?)

EDIT: Actually, have I been really repugnant in this thread? I really hope I'm not coming off wrong. Am I making a stupid mistake somewhere? If so, let me know and have this thread die.

No problem nor misunderstanding. This an AH forum.

But it is just that I did not understand the foundations for your alternate timeline.

They are not realistic, nor legal, which makes them impossible to my opinion.

In 1798, the first amendment had already been adopted. So no possibility for a political trial.
Except if I made a mistake, there were no article of the aliens and sedition act which made a crime for a State's house of representatives passing a resolution to protect their constitutional rights or to clarify their powers.

Besides, Jefferson's opinions on the matter were publicly known, no ?

So I ask again : on which charge could Jefferson have been impeached ?
None.

If his enemies had sued him on this, it would have been a judicial disaster for them. And consequently a political disaster for them, not for Jefferson.
 
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