The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were prompted by the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which were seen as federal overreach and a violation of states' rights. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, authors of the resolutions, argued that states had the right to nullify Federal Laws they deemed unconstitutional. This political response reflected growing tensions between federal authority and states' rights, highlighting early debates over the balance of power in the U.S. government. The resolutions underscored the emerging partisan divide between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.