Page "Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions" Paragraph 13

The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 stated that acts of the national government beyond the scope of its constitutional powers are " unauthoritative, void, and of no force ".

While Jefferson's draft of the 1798 Resolutions had claimed that each state has a right of " nullification " of unconstitutional laws, that language did not appear in the final form of those Resolutions.

Rather than purporting to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts, the 1798 Resolutions called on the other states to join Kentucky " in declaring these acts void and of no force " and " in requesting their repeal at the next session of Congress ".

Jefferson at one point drafted a threat for Kentucky to secede, but dropped it from the text.