(1788–89) Measures passed by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky as a protest against the Alien and Sedition Acts .
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson (though their role went unknown for 25 years), the resolutions protested limitations on civil liberties and declared the right of states to decide on the constitutionality of federal legislation. Though their authors applied the resolutions to the specific issues of the day, Southern states later used the measures to support the theories of {{link=nullification">nullification and secession .