Page "James Madison" Paragraph 32

In 1798 under President John Adams, the U. S. and France unofficially went to war — the Quasi War, that involved naval warships and commercial vessels battling in the Caribbean.

The Federalists created a standing army and passed laws against French refugees engaged in American politics and against Republican editors.

Congressman Madison and Vice President Jefferson were outraged.

Madison and Jefferson secretly drafted the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions declaring the Alien and Sedition Acts to be unconstitutional and noted that " states, in contesting obnoxious laws, should ' interpose for arresting the progress of the evil.

'" These turned out to be unpopular, even among republicans, since they called for state governments to invalidate federal laws.

Jefferson went further, urging states to secede if necessary, though Madison convinced Jefferson to back down from this extreme view.