The majority of the legal actions began in 1798 and 1799, and went to trial on the eve of the 1800 presidential election.[211] Vocal opponents of the Federalists were imprisoned or fined under the Sedition Act for criticizing the government.[212] Among them was Congressman Matthew Lyon of Vermont, who was sentenced to four months in jail for criticizing the President.[213] The alien acts were not stringently enforced because Adams resisted Secretary of State Timothy Pickering's attempts to deport aliens, although many left on their own, largely in response to the hostile environment.[211] Republicans were outraged. Jefferson, disgusted by the acts, wrote nothing publicly but partnered with Madison to secretly draft the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. Jefferson, writing for Kentucky, wrote that states had the "natural right" to nullify any acts they deemed unconstitutional. Writing to Madison, he speculated that as a last resort the states might have to "sever ourselves from the union we so much value."[214] Federalists reacted bitterly to the resolutions, which were to have far more lasting implications for the country than the Alien and Sedition Acts. 