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What action did Jefferson believe states could take if they did not approve a federal law?

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Final answer:

Jefferson believed states could nullify federal laws they found unconstitutional. This concept was expressed in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

Step-by-step explanation:

Thomas Jefferson believed that if a state did not approve a federal law, it had the right to engage in nullification, which included interposition or nullification by blocking federal laws they deem unconstitutional.

Jefferson and James Madison expressed this idea in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions as a response to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. These resolutions asserted that states could judge the constitutionality of federal laws and declare them to have 'no force' within their borders.

User Tom Aranda
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Answer:

Jefferson's draft resolutions claimed states had the right to nullify federal laws and acts that violated the Constitution.

User Bryan Schmiedeler
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