e who attacked the government in the press should be severely
punished as a seditious person. Several trials were held under this law.
Every trial made hundreds of persons determined to vote for the
Republican candidate at the next election.

[Sidenote: Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions 1798-99. _McMaster_,
212-213.]

[Sidenote: Jefferson and Madison on the Constitution.]

[Sidenote: The Kentucky Resolutions of 1799.]

225. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 1798-99.--In the exciting
years before the Revolutionary War the colonial legislatures had passed
many resolutions condemning the acts of the British government (see pp.
77, 84). Following this example Jefferson and Madison now brought it
about that the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures passed resolutions
against the Alien and Sedition Acts. They declared that the Constitution
was a compact between the states. It followed from this that any state
could determine for itself whether any act of Congress were
constitutional or not. It followed from, this, again, that any state
could refuse to permit an Act of Congress to be enforced within its
limits. In other words, any state could make null or nullify any Act of
Congress that it saw fit to oppose. This last conclusion was found only
in the Kentucky Resolutions of 1799. But Jefferson wrote to this effect
in the original draft of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. The Virginia
and Kentucky Resolutions called the voter's attention to the Federalist
abuse of power and did much to form public opinion.

[Sidenote: Death of Washington, 1799.]

226. Death of Washington, 1799.--In the midst of this excitement
George Washington died. People forgot how strongly he had taken the
Federalist side in the last few years, and united to do honor to his
memory. Henry Lee spoke for the nation when he declared that Washington
was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his
countrymen." To this day, we commemorate Washington's birthday as we do
that of no other man, though of late years we have begun to keep
Lincoln's birthday also.

[Sidenote: Election of 1800. _McMaster_, 215.]

[Sidenote: Jefferson and Burr.]

[Sidenote: The election in the House of Representatives.]

227. Election of 1800.--It was for a moment only that the noise of
party conflict was hushed by the death of America's first President. The
strife soon began anew. Indeed, the election of 1800 was fought with a
vigor and violence unknown befor