Virginia’s Unmistakable Influence on America’s Founding

The Williamsburg capitol building was where the Fifth Virginia Convention took place. Public Domain

Two months before the Continental Congress finalized and approved the Declaration of Independence, Virginia’s Fifth Revolutionary Convention was held in Williamsburg, Virginia. The purpose of the convention was to, much like America’s most famous document, declare independence from Great Britain. The drafting of this declaration, which became known as the Virginia Declaration of Rights, was led by George Mason. This document was adopted unanimously by the General Assembly on June 12, 1776.

George Mason, a founding father, wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that inspired Thomas Jefferson's drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the later document, the Bill of Rights. Public Domain

The importance of the state document cannot be overstated as it became a source of inspiration for the authors of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights; interestingly both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were fellow Virginians, and are known as the primary authors of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, respectively. Wondering how influential? Let’s peruse some of the sections in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and see:

Section 1

Mason’s opening paragraph looks to have inspired Jefferson’s introduction (second paragraph) to the Declaration of Independence:

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights … namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty … and pursuing and obtaining happiness.”

Declaration of Independence: “That all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

This early 20th-century watercolor by Arnold Franz Brasz was a proposed library window decoration for Thomas Jefferson Junior High School, located in California. Public Domain

Section 2

This section exemplifies the primary reason the American rebellion began: representation. It is more concise compared to the Constitution, but the inspiration is unmistakable. The Declaration of Independence also appears to reflect these sentiments.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants at all times amenable to them.”

Constitution’s Opening Paragraph: “We the People of the United States”

Constitution’s Article 1 Section 1: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress”

Constitution’s Article 1 Section 2: “The House of Representatives … chosen … by the People”

Declaration of Independence: “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”

Section 3

One of the Virginia Declaration of Rights’ most powerful statements obviously left an impression on the Declaration of Independence’s five-man committee, resulting in one of the document’s most powerful statements as well.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “When any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community has an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it.”

Declaration of Independence: “that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it”

Section 5

The first three Articles in the Constitution are much more in-depth, but this section of the Virginia Declaration of Rights demonstrates the important American philosophy of the three separate branches of government.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “The legislative and executive powers of the state should be separate and distinct from the judiciary.”

Constitution’s Article 1 Section 1: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress.”

Constitution’s Article 2 Section 1: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”

Constitution’s Article 3 Section 1: “The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court.”

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections”

Constitution’s Article 1 Section 1: “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year.”

Constitution’s Article 1 Section 3: “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen … for six years.”

Constitution’s Article 2 Section 1: “President of the United States of America … shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years.”

Section 6

During the decade prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Parliament had taxed the colonists without their consent. At times, the British deprived colonists of their property. Mason addressed these issues, and the framers of the Bill of Rights followed suit.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “All men … have the right of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses without their own consent or that of their representatives so elected.”

Bill of Rights 5: “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation”

Declaration of Independence: “imposing taxes on us without our consent”

Section 7

The accusations made against King George III in the Virginia Declaration of Rights are echoed in the Declaration of Independence, but with more detail.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights.”

Declaration of Independence: “He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation, till his assent should be obtained. … He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. … For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws. … For suspending our own legislatures.”

Section 8

“I plead the Fifth.” The eighth right in the Virginia Declaration of Rights is a precursor to the Bill of Rights’ Fifth Amendment, as well as the Sixth. Jefferson also pinpointed the king’s stifling of these common rights the colonists had enjoyed as British subjects.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “A man has a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of twelve men of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty, nor can he be compelled to given evidence against himself; that no man be deprived of his liberty except by the law.”

Declaration of Independence: “For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury; For transporting us beyond seas to be tried.”

Bill of Rights 5: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury … nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.”

Bill of Rights 6: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right of a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed … and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.”

It boggles the mind that the fundamental truths written out hundreds of years ago in the Bill of Rights have been preserved to the present day. Public Domain

Section 9

The judicial rights stated in this section are nearly verbatim in the Eighth Amendment.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Bill of Rights 8: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Section 10

The Writ of Assistance allowed for illegal searches and seizures, an infringement most notably addressed by James Otis of Massachusetts in 1761, in his letter “Against Writs of Assistance.” Mason took note, as did the framers of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose offense is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are grievous and oppressive and ought not to be granted.”

Declaration of Independence: “He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers, to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”

Bill of Rights 4: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon principal cause … and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Section 12

This Right established later in the Virginia Declaration of Rights comes early in our Bill of Rights.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “the freedom of the press”

Bill of Rights 1: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom … of the press.”

Section 13

The militia proved absolutely necessary in the fight against the British. Mason understood the importance of the armed civilian, but also how a standing army in times of peace posed a threat. Items equally reflected in the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty.”

Bill of Rights 2: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Declaration of Independence: “He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies ... has affected to render the military independent, of, and superior to, the civil power.”

Section 16

The final section reflects why the Pilgrims initially came to America 150 years prior to declaring independence. Although it is the last mentioned in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, it is the very first mentioned in the Bill of Rights.

Virginia Declaration of Rights: “That religion … and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion.”

Bill of Rights 1: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Remember Virginia

Whenever we think of our rights as Americans, it is very common to think of the framers of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Perhaps now when we think of Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Madison, we may think of Mason as well. Without his blueprint, who knows what might have been left out of those precious documents.

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