Historic Virginia Documents

Petition objecting to the proposed Stamp Tax to be imposed on the American colonies.

Drafted by Patrick Henry, this resolution opposes the Stamp Act.

Meeting of the First Virginia Convention, which convened after the House of Burgesses was dissolved by Governor Lord Dunmore under instructions from the king.

Resolution instructing Virginia's Constitutional Congress delegates to propose a declaration of independence.

Written by George Mason and adopted by the Fifth Virginia Convention.

Among those who drafted Virginia's first written constitution were George Mason and James Madison.

An enslaver with a complex legacy around issues of slavery, Jefferson expresses his views on slavery and race.

Act that ceded Virginia's claims on its northwestern territories to the federal government.

James Madison opposes a proposed Virginia tax that would fund "teachers of the Christian religion."

Act establishing religious freedom in Virginia, drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

Proposes a joint meeting of the states to consider a federal plan for regulating commerce, ultimately leading to the Constitutional Convention.

Drafted by James Madison and presented by Edmund Randolph, the Virginia Plan laid the groundwork for the U.S. Constitution.

Virginia was the tenth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Virginia adopted this resolution composed by James Madison, which opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts as exceeding the limits of Congress's constitutional powers.