John Randolph (June 2, 1773May 24, 1833), known as
John Randolph of Roanoke, was a
planter, and a
Congressman from Virginia, serving in the
House of Representatives at various times between 1799 and 1833, the
Senate (1825–1827), and also as
Minister to Russia (1830). After serving as President
Thomas Jefferson's spokesman in the House, he broke with Jefferson in 1803 and became the leader of the "
Old Republican" or "Quids", an extreme states' rights vanguard of the
Democratic-Republican Party who wanted to restrict the role of the federal government. Specifically, Randolph promoted the
Principles of '98, which said that individual states could judge the constitutionality of central government laws and decrees, and could refuse to enforce laws deemed unconstitutional.