Why did Kentucky support the idea of nullification?

Kentucky supported the idea of nullification at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century primarily because of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which were political statements crafted in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Those measures were viewed as an overreach of federal power by many in Kentucky and Virginia, and the resolutions supported the idea that states had the right to nullify unconstitutional federal laws.

The Alien and Sedition Acts were enacted by the federal government under President John Adams and were intended to suppress perceived threats from foreign nationals and to limit criticisms of the federal government. Many people, especially members of the Democratic-Republican Party, believed these laws violated the First Amendment and the principle of states' rights. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were the principal authors of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, though their involvement was initially anonymous.

Kentucky, as a state with strong states' rights sentiments, found the idea of nullification appealing because it offered a way to safeguard sovereignty against what was seen as federal overreach. It was a means of asserting a balance of power between the state and federal governments. During this time, the concept of nullification was linked to the compact theory of the Union, which held that the United States was formed by a compact among sovereign states, and that if the federal government acted outside its constitutional boundaries, states had the right to nullify those actions.

The controversy around nullification has at different times in U.S. history focused on issues ranging from the Alien and Sedition Acts to the tariff issues of the 1820s and 1830s, often culminating in heated political disputes about the limits of federal power and the rights of states.