A declaration of rights made
by the representatives of the good people of Virginia, assembled in full and free
convention; which rights do pertain to them and their posterity, as the basis
and foundation of government.
SECTION 1. That all men are by nature equally
free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they
enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest
their posterity, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of
acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and
safety.
SEC. 2. That all power is vested in, and
consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and
servants, and at all times amenable to them.
SEC. 3. That government is, or ought to be,
instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people,
nation, or community; of all the various modes and forms of government, that is
best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety,
and is most effectually secured against the danger of maladministration; and
that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these
purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and
indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be
judged most conducive to the public weal.
SEC. 4. That no man, or set of men, are
entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community,
but in consideration of public services; which, not being descendible, neither
ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge to be hereditary
SEC. 3. That the legislative and executive
powers of the State should be separate and distinct from the judiciary; and
that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling
and participating the burdens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be
reduced to a private station, return into that body from which they were
originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and
regular elections, in which all, or any part of the former members, to be again
eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall direct.
SEC. 6. That elections of members to serve
as representatives of the people, in assembly, ought to be free; and that all
men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and
attachment to, the community, 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 representives so elected, nor bound by
any law to which they have not, in like manner, assembled, for the public good.
SEC. 7. That all power of suspending laws,
or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the
representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to
be exercised.
SEC. 8. That in all capital or criminal
prosecutions a man hath 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 give evidence against himself; that no man be deprived
of his liberty, except by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers.
SEC. 9. That excessive bail ought not to be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.
SEC. 10. 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 offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are
grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted.
SEC. 11. That in controversies respecting
property, and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial by jury is
preferable to any other, and ought to be held sacred.
SEC. 12. That the freedom
of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be
restrained but by despotic governments.
SEC. 13. That a well-regulated militia,
composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural,
and safe defence of a free State; that standing
armies, in time of peace, should be avoided, as dangerous to liberty; and that
in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed
by, the civil power.
SEC. 14. That the people have a right to
uniform government; and, therefore, that no government separate from, or
independent of the government of
SEC. 15. That no free government, or the
blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence
to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent
recurrence to fundamental principles.
SEC. 16. That religion, or the duty which we
owe to our Creator, 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, according to the dictates of
conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian
forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.
Whereas George the third,
King of Great Britain and
By denying his Governors
permission to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended
in their operation for his assent, and, when so suspended neglecting to attend
to them for many years:
By refusing to pass certain
other laws, unless the persons to be benefited by them would relinquish the
inestimable right of representation in the legislature:
By dissolving legislative
Assemblies repeatedly and continually, for opposing with manly firmness his
invasions of the rights of the people:
When dissolved, by refusing
to call others for a long space of time, thereby leaving the political system
without any legislative head:
By endeavouring
to prevent the population of our country, and, for that purpose, obstructing, the laws for the naturalization of foreigners:
By keeping among us, in
times of peace, standing armies and ships of war:
By effecting to render the military
independent of, and superior to, the civil power:
By combining with others to
subject us to a foreign jurisdiction, giving his assent to their pretended acts
of legislation:
For quartering large bodies
of armed troops among us:
For cutting off our trade
with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us
without our consent:
For depriving us of the
benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond
seas, to be tried for pretended offences:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power
to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever:
By plundering our seas,
ravaging our coasts, burning our towns, and destroying the lives of our people:
By inciting insurrections of
our fellow subjects, with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation:
By prompting our negroes to rise in arms against us, those very negroes whom,
by an inhuman use of his negative, he hath refused us permission to exclude by
law:
By endeavoring to bring on the
inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of
warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions of
existence:
By transporting, at this
time, a large army of foreign mercenaries, to complete the works of death,
desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and
perfidy unworthy the head of a civilized nation:
By
answering our repeated petitions for redress with a repetition of injuries: And
finally, by abandoning the helm of government and declaring us out of his
allegiance and protection.
By which several acts of
misrule, the government of this country, as formerly exercised under the crown
of
We therefore, the delegates
and representatives of the good people of Virginia, having maturely considered
the premises, and viewing with great concern the deplorable conditions to which
this once happy country must be reduced, unless some regular, adequate mode of
civil polity is speedily adopted, and in compliance with a recommendation of
the (general Congress, do ordain and declare the future form of government of
Virginia to be as followeth:
The legislative, executive,
and judiciary department, shall be separate and
distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to the other:
nor shall any person exercise the powers of rmorc
than one of them, at the same time; except that the Justices of the County
(courts shall be eligible to either House of Assembly
The legislative shall be
formed of two distinct branches, who, together, shall be a complete
Legislature. They shall meet once, or oftener, every year, and shall be called,
The General Assembly of Virginia. One of these shall be called, The House of
Delegates, and consist of two Representatives, to be chosen for each county,
and for the district of West-Augusta, annually, of such men as actually reside
in, and are freeholders of the same, or duly qualified according to law, and
also of one Delegate or Representative, to be chosen annually for the city of Williamsburgh, and one for the borough of Norfolk, and a
Representative for each of such other cities and boroughs, as may hereafter be
allowed particular representation by the legislature; but when any city or
borough shall so decrease, as that the number of persons, having right of
suffrage therein, shall have been, for the space of seven Years successively,
less than half the number of voters in some one county in Virginia, such city
or borough thenceforward shall cease to send a Delegate or Representative to
the Assembly.
The other shall be called
The Senate, and consist of twenty-four members, of whom thirteen shall
constitute a House to proceed on business; for whose election, the different
counties shall be divided into twenty-four districts; and each county of the
respective district, at the time of the election of its Delegates, shall vote
for one Senator, who is actually a resident and freeholder within the district,
or duly qualified according to law, and is upwards of twenty-five years of age;
and the Sheriffs of each county, within five days at farthest, after the last
county election in the district, shall meet at some convenient place, and from
the poll, so taken in their respective counties, return, as a Senator, the man
who shall have the greatest number of votes in the whole district. To keep up
this Assembly by rotation, the districts shall be equally divided into four
classes and numbered by lot. At the end of one year after the general election,
the six members, elected by the first division, shall be displaced, and the
vacancies thereby occasioned supplied from such class or division, by new
election, in the manner aforesaid. This rotation shall be applied to each
division, according to its number, and continued in due order annually.
The right of suffrage in the
election of members for both Houses shall remain as exercised at present; and
each House shall choose its own Speaker, appoint its own officers, settle its
own rules of proceeding, and direct writs of election, for the supplying
intermediate vacancies.
All laws shall originate in
the House of Delegates, to be approved of or rejected by the Senate, or to be-
amended, with consent of the House of Delegates; except money-bills, which in
no instance shall be altered by the Senate, but wholly approved or rejected
A Governor, or chief
magistrate, shall be chosen annually by joint ballot of both Houses (to be
taken in each House respectively) deposited in the conference room; the boxes
examined jointly by a committee of each House, and the numbers severally
reported to them, that the appointments may be entered (which shall be the mode
of taking the joint ballot of both Houses, in all cases) who shall not continue
in that office longer than three years successively. nor
be eligible, until the expiration of four years after he shall have been out of
that office. An adequate, but moderate salary shall be settled on him, during
his continuance in office; and he shall, with the advice of a Council of State,
exercise the executive powers of government, according to the laws of this
Commonwealth; and shall not, under any presence, exercise any power or
prerogative, by virtue of any law, statute or custom of
Either House of the General
Assembly may adjourn themselves respectively. The Governor shall not prorogue
or adjourn the Assembly, during their sitting, nor dissolve them at any time;
but he shall, if necessary, either by advice of the Council of State, or on
application of a majority of the House of Delegates, call them before the time
to which they shall stand prorogued or adjourned.
A Privy Council, or Council
of State, consisting of eight members, shall be chosen, by joint ballot of both
Houses of Assembly, either from their own members or the people at large, to
assist in the administration of government. They shall annually choose, out of
their own members, a President, who, in case of death, inability, or absence of
the Governor from the government, shall act as Lieutenant-Governor. Four
members shall be sufficient to act, and their advice and proceedings shall be
entered on record, and signed by the members present, (to any part whereof, any
member may enter his dissent) to be laid before the General Assembly, when
called for by them. This Council may appoint their own Clerk, who shall have a
salary settled by law, and take an oath of secrecy, in such matters as he shall
be directed by the board to conceal. A sum of money, appropriated to that
purpose, shall be divided annually among the members' in proportion to their
attendance; and they shall be incapable, during their continuance in office, of
sitting in either House of Assembly. Two members shall be removed, by Joint
ballot of both Houses of Assembly, at the end of every three years, and be
ineligible for the three next years. These vacancies, as well as those
occasioned by death or incapacity, shall be supplied by new elections, in the
same manner.
The Delegates for
The present militia officers
shall be continued, and vacancies supplied by appointment of the Governor, with
the advice of the Privy Council, on recommendations from the respective County
Courts; but the Governor and Council shall have a power of suspending any
officer, and ordering a Court Martial, on complaint of misbehaviour
or inability, or to supply vacancies of officers, happening when in actual
service.
The Governor may embody the
militia, with the advice of the Privy Council; and when embodied, shall alone
have the direction of the militia, under the laws of the country.
The two Houses of Assembly
shall, by joint ballot, appoint Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and
General Court, Judges in Chancery, Judges of Admiralty, Secretary, and the
Attorney-General, to be commissioned by the Governor, and continue in office
during good behaviour. In case of death, incapacity,
or resignation, the Governor, with the advice of the Privy Council, shall
appoint persons to succeed in office, to be approved or displaced by both
Houses. These officers shall have fixed and adequate salaries, and, together
with all others, holding lucrative offices, and all ministers of the gospel, of
every denomination, be incapable of being elected members of either House of
Assembly or the Privy Council.
The Governor, with the
advice of the Privy Council, shall appoint Justices of the Peace for the
counties; and in case of vacancies, or a necessity of increasing the number
hereafter, such appointments to be made upon the recommendation of the
respective County Courts. The present acting Secretary in Virginia, and Clerks
of all the County Courts, shall continue in office. In case of vacancies,
either by death, incapacity, or resignation, a Secretary shall be appointed, as
before directed; and the Clerks, by the respective Courts. The present and
future Clerks shall hold their offices during good behaviour,
to be judged of, and determined in the General Court. The Sheriffs and Coroners
shall be nominated by the respective Courts, approved by the Governor, with the
advice of the Privy Council, and commissioned by the Governor. The Justices
shall appoint Constables; and all fees of the aforesaid officers be regulated
by law.
The
Governor, when he is out of office, and others, offending against the State,
either by mar-administration, corruption, or other means, by which the safety
of the State may be endangered, shall be impeachable by the House of Delegates. Such impeachment
to be prosecuted by the Attorney-General, or such other person or persons, as
the House may appoint in the General Court, according to the laws of the land.
If found guilty, he or they shall be either forever disabled to hold any office
under government, or be removed from such office pro tempore, or subjected to
such pains or penalties as the laws shall direct.
If all or any of the Judges
of the General Court should on good grounds (to be judged of by the House of
Delegates) be accused of any of the crimes or offences above mentioned, such
House of Delegates may, in like manner, impeach the Judge or Judges so accused,
to be prosecuted in the Court of Appeals; and he or they, if found guilty,
shall be punished in the same manner as is prescribed in the preceding clause.
Commissions and grants shall
run, "In the name of the
A Treasurer shall be
appointed annually, by joint ballot of both Houses.
All escheats, penalties, and
forfeitures, heretofore going to the King, shall go to the Commonwealth, save
only such as the Legislature may abolish, or otherwise provide for.
The territories, contained
within the Charters, erecting the Colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and
South Carolina, are hereby ceded, released, and forever confirmed, to the
people of these Colonies respectively, with all the rights of property,
jurisdiction and government, and all other rights whatsoever, which might, at
any time heretofore, have been claimed by Virginia, except the free navigation
and use of the rivers Patomaque and Pokomoke, with the property of the Virginia shores and
strands, bordering on either of the said rivers, and all improvements, which
have been, or shall be made thereon. The western and northern extent of
Virginia shall, in all other respects, stand as fixed by the Charter of King
James I. in the year one thousand six hundred and nine, and by the public
treaty of peace between the Courts of Britain and France, in the Year one
thousand seven hundred and sixty-three; unless by act of this Legislature, one
or more governments be established westward of the Alleghany mountains. And no
purchases of lands shall be made of the Indian natives, but on behalf of the
public, by authority of the General Assembly.
In order to introduce this
government, the Representatives of the people met in the convention shall
choose a Governor and Privy Council, also such other officers directed to be
chosen by both Houses as may be judged necessary to be immediately appointed. The Senate to be first chosen by the people to continue until the
last day of March next, and the other officers until the end of the succeeding
session of Assembly. In case of vacancies, the Speaker of either House shall shall issue writs for new
elections.
(1) Verified from "Ordinances
passed at a General Convention of Delegates and Representatives from the
Several Counties and Corporations of Virginia, Held at the Capitol in the City
of
"The Proceedings of the
Convention of Delegates for the Counties and Corporations in the Colony of
Virginia, held at
"The Proceedings of the
Convention of Delegates for the Counties and Corporations in the Colony of
Virginia held at
"The Proceedings of the
Convention of Delegates held at the Capitol, in the city of
"Ordinances passed at a
General Convention of Delegates and Representatives, from the several Counties
and Corporations of Virginia, held at the Capitol in the City of
This Declaration of Rights was
framed by a Convention, composed of forty-five members of the colonial house of burgesses, which met at Williamsburgh
May 6, 1776, and adopted this Declaration June 12, 1776.
This constitution was framed
by the convention which issued the preceding Declaration of Rights, and was
adopted June 29, 1776. It was not submitted to the people for ratification. Back