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Martin Van Buren
President from 1837 to 1841. Beset by the panic of 1837 and unable to win over Jackson’s opposition, the Whigs, Van Buren lost his bid for reelection in 1840.
Vietcong
A pro-communist guerrilla force working secretly within South Vietnam.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Written in 1798 by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions condemned the Federalists’ broad interpretation of the Constitution and instead put forth a compact theory of the Union, which stated that states’ rights superseded federal powers. Virginia and Kentucky endorsed these resolutions in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts. The arguments outlined in these resolutions would resurface in the mid-nineteenth century in the political crises involving tariff issues and slavery—issues that divided the North and South and led to the Civil War.
Virginia Plan
The first major proposal presented to the Constitutional Convention concerning congressional representation. The Virginia Plan proposed the creation of a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to population. The plan favored the large states, which would have a much greater voice than the small states under this plan. In opposition, the small states proposed the New Jersey Plan. The two sides eventually found common ground in the Connecticut Compromise.
Virginia Resolves
In response to the 1765 Stamp Act, Patrick Henry persuaded the Virginia House of Burgesses to adopt several strongly worded resolutions that denied Parliament’s right to tax the colonies. Known as the Virginia Resolves, these resolutions persuaded many other colonial legislatures to adopt similar positions.
Virtual representation
Held that the members of Parliament not only represented their specific geographic constituencies but also took into consideration the well-being of all British subjects when deliberating on legislation. Prime Minister George Grenville invoked the concept to explain why Parliament could legally tax the colonists even though the colonists could not elect any members of Parliament.
Voting Rights Act
Passed in 1965. The Voting Rights Act guaranteed all Americans the right to vote and allowed the federal government to intervene in elections in order to ensure that minorities could vote.