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The Constitution of Virginia, adopted June 29, 1776, by the Virginia Convention, establishes the powers of a governor, Council of State, and General Assembly independent of Great Britain.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- That no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services; which, nor being descendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge to be hereditary.
The Declaration can be considered the first modern Constitutional protection of individual rights for citizens of North America. It rejected the notion of privileged political classes or hereditary offices such as the members of Parliament and House of Lords described in the English Bill of Rights. [citation needed]
This extract is taken from the Virginia Bill of Rights, passed by the House of Burgesses in June 1776. Authored primarily by George Mason, it sought to protect the natural rights of men and was thus a reflection of Enlightenment ideas and values.
Virginia Declaration of Rights, in U.S. constitutional history, declaration of rights of the citizen adopted June 12, 1776, by the constitutional convention of the colony of Virginia. It was a model for the Bill of Rights added to the U.S. Constitution 15 years later.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Oct 19, 2024 · The Virginia Declaration of Rights, authored principally by George Mason (1725–1792), stands as one of the most elegant positive statements of the political philosophy of the American Revolution.
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May 23, 2018 · The Virginia Declaration of Rights is an important document in U.S. constitutional history. Adopted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776, its sixteen sections enumerated specific civil liberties that government could not legitimately take away.
