Thomas Jefferson worked with soldiers.
Thomas Jefferson . Previously , he was elected the second Vice President of the United States , serving under John Adams from 1797 to 1801 . He became the United States Minister to France in May 1785 , and subsequently the nation 's first Secretary of State in 1790 -- 1793 under President George Washington . With Madison , he anonymously wrote the controversial Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798 -- 1799 , which sought to embolden states ' rights in opposition to the national government by nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts .