Which resolutions argued that states could nullify federal laws they found unconstitutional?

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, adopted in 1798, are significant documents in American history that articulated the principle of nullification. They were written in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, which some states believed violated the Constitution and infringed upon individual liberties. By asserting that states had the right to nullify federal laws deemed unconstitutional, these resolutions laid the groundwork for later conflicts between state and federal authority, fundamentally challenging the scope of federal power.

The concept of nullification posited that if a state determined a federal law was unconstitutional, it could refuse to enforce it within its borders. This notion would later become a pivotal point of contention in American politics, particularly leading up to the Civil War. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions exemplify early assertions of state sovereignty and resistance to federal overreach. Other options like the Missouri Compromise, Hartford Convention, and Compromise of 1850 dealt with different issues related to sectionalism, politics, and slavery, and did not address the principle of state nullification of federal law.