James Madison Writes Thomas Jefferson, Agreeing to Meet With Him Privately at Monticello to Plot Their Response to the Alien Sedition Acts

An incredibly uncommon letter of importance from Madison to Jefferson, bearing Jefferson’s notations in the docket, mentioning Madison’s wife Dolley and James Monroe; Madison also wants to take council with incoming Virginia Governor James Monroe

The Alien and Sedition Acts were bills that were passed by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798. They were purported to strengthen national security at the time of the undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. The Naturalization Act increased the residency requirement for U.S. citizenship from 5 to 14 years. At that time, immigrants were voting heavily in favor of the Democratic-Republicans, the opponent of the Federalists. The Sedition Act restricted speech that was critical of the Federal government, and indeed political opponents of Adams, including newspaper editors that favored Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans, found themselves being prosecuted. These laws resulted in a firestorm of controversy and would lead in part to Jefferson’s victory over Adams in the presidential election of 1800.  

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798-99 were a series of resolutions passed by the legislatures of those states protesting the Alien Sedition Acts. These resolutions took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional, and argued that the states had the right and the duty to declare unconstitutional acts of Congress that were not authorized by the Constitution. The Kentucky Resolutions were drafted by Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Resolutions by James Madison, who considered them to be a dangerous usurpation of power by the Federal government. Then Jefferson and Madison waited for other states to join in this mini-rebellion with them.

But the response by other states to the resolutions was disappointing Jefferson. In many cases, states were outright negative or expressed outright support of the Acts.  In the South, no state responded to Kentucky's Resolutions. North and South Carolina both seemed sympathetic to them, but did not issue anything official in support. Of Georgia and Tennessee, little can be said other than they did not issue responses.  Jefferson now felt a need to respond in forceful terms to those who had negative responses to the resolutions.

Wilson Cary Nicolas was a member of Congress and Governor of Virginia, as well as a protege of Jefferson. He consulted with him on the Kentucky Resolutions.  In late 1799, James Madison and Nicolas were both in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Jame Monroe was incoming Governor.  This great Virgina political clan was collaborating, with Jefferson as its ideological head. Jefferson himself wanted a hard line taken on the response, but while Kentucky was of one mind with him, with Virginia he knew the need to consult with his colleagues first.  

On August 26, 1799, Jefferson wrote to Nicolas, “I am deeply impressed with the importance of Virginia & Kentucky pursuing the same tract at the ensuing sessions of their legislatures [responding in force to the negative response to his Resolutions]. Your going thither furnishes a valuable opportunity of effecting it, and as Mr. Madison will be at our assembly as well as yourself, I thought it important to procure a meeting between you. I therefore wrote to propose to him a ride to this place on Saturday or Sunday next… Mrs. Madison, who was the bearer of my letter, assured me I might count on Mr M.’s being here…I shall take care that Monroe shall dine with us.”  The meeting, Jefferson explained, should be held discretely.

Two days later, Madison responded to Jefferson’s letter in this letter, confirming he would write Nicolas (Mr. N.) and would come the Monticello to discuss the issues in person, and also that he would coordinate with Monroe.

Autograph letter signed, Montpelier, Aug. 28, 1799, the original letter addressed to and received by Thomas Jefferson. Holograph address panel has "FREE" stamp and is directed to "Thomas Jefferson, V. President of the United States at Monticello." Docketed by Jefferson: "Madison James. Aug. 28.99." "The letter for Lumsden inclosed in your favor by Mrs. M. [Dolley Madison] got into his hands in time for the inclosed answer from him [not present]. If the time & terms on which he proposes to send one of his hands be unobjectionable, I can venture to recommend the choice he has made. He appears to be really an accomplished plaisterer. I write a few lines by the present opportunity to Mr. N. [Nicolas] and shall be at Monticello on Sunday next. I shall probably ride up to Col. Monroe's the day preceding."

Madison did go and meet with Jefferson, but resisted Jefferson’s most caustic language.  On September 5, Jefferson wrote to Nicholas, writing in favor of a “resolution or declaration… reserving the right to make this palpable violation of the federal compact the ground of doing in future whatever we might now rightfully do… Mr M. [Madison] who came as had been proposed, does not concur in the reservation proposed above; and from this I recede readily, not only in deference to his judgment, but because, as we should never think of separation but for repeated and enormous violations, so these, when they occur, will be cause enough of themselves.” So Jefferson was in favor of taking a more radical, even secessionist, stance than Madison, who hung back advising caution.

Interestingly, Kentucky, whose resolutions were authored by Jefferson, would respond to the states that denounced them with the Kentucky Resolutions of November 1799. These reaffirmed Kentucky's commitment to opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the wording went even further: this time, the legislature explicitly said that “nullification…is the rightful remedy" in response to "unauthorized acts done under color of that instrument [the constitution]."  By contrast, Virginia, whose resolutions were authored by Madison, did not follow suit. Shortly thereafter the gaze of the state and nation were overtaken by the death of President Washington, and soon after the election of 1800 with Jefferson’s victory would moot the entire issue.

An interesting subtext of this exchange appears to be that James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were working simultaneously on Montpelier and Monticello, respectively their now-famous homes, and using the same plasterer.