Virginia Ratifies the Constitution
On June 25, 1788, Virginia ratified the United States Constitution, becoming the tenth state to do so. This decision was pivotal due to Virginia's prominence as the largest and most influential state during that period, significantly impacting the success of the new federal government. Prior to ratification, Virginia played a crucial role in advocating for a stronger central government, highlighted by events such as the Mount Vernon Conference in 1785 and the Annapolis Convention in 1786, where issues related to commerce and governance were addressed. At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Virginia's delegates, including notable figures like George Washington and James Madison, proposed the Virginia Plan, which laid the groundwork for the structure of the Constitution itself.
Despite strong opposition from Antifederalists, led by Patrick Henry, who voiced concerns over individual liberties and government overreach, the Federalists effectively mobilized support through strategic campaigning and leveraging the influence of respected leaders. The ratification convention ultimately concluded with a narrow victory for the Federalists, reflecting a mix of wartime experiences and Virginia's political dynamics. Virginia's endorsement of the Constitution not only solidified its own place in the Union but also provided a critical boost to the cause of federalism across the nation.
Virginia Ratifies the Constitution
Virginia Ratifies the Constitution
On June 25, 1788, Virginia became the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution. Although the new frame of government officially became the law of the land after adoption by nine of the 13 states, approval by Virginia, the largest and most influential of the states, was critical to its success. Moreover, Virginia's decision gave the Federalists in New York enough leverage to bring that prosperous and centrally located state into the new Union.
During the years following the American Revolution, Virginians ranked among the foremost critics of the Articles of Confederation. In 1785 George Washington served as host at Mount Vernon to delegates from Virginia and Maryland who sought to resolve the difficulties involved in navigation of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. In 1786, at Virginia's invitation, representatives from five states met in Annapolis, Maryland, for a convention on commercial affairs. The delegates proposed that the Congress convene a Continental convention “to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union.” When the Congress made provision for such a gathering, Virginia was the first state to appoint representatives to the Philadelphia convention.
Seven delegates represented Virginia at the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia from May through September 1787. George Washington, the commander in chief of American forces during the Revolution, served as president of the gathering. At 55 years of age, the general was perhaps the most popular man in the new nation. James Madison, 36 years old, was essentially a scholar in politics, whose thorough knowledge of public affairs convinced many of his greatness. George Wythe, 61 years of age, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a judge of Virginia's high court of chancery, and a professor of law at the famous College of William and Mary. George Mason, 62 years of age, was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and supported the wide distribution of governmental power among the states. Edmund Randolph, governor of Virginia, John Blair, a member of the state's judiciary, and James McClurg, once professor of medicine at William and Mary, completed the delegation. Patrick Henry, a localist who “smelt a rat,” declined to serve. Richard Henry Lee and Thomas Nelson, who also won election to the convention, followed Henry's example.
On May 29, Edmund Randolph, on behalf of the Virginia delegation, suggested a program of action to the convention. Presented in the form of 15 resolutions, the Virginia plan was essentially a new frame of government designed to replace rather than to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Randolph resolutions, which appeared to actually be the handiwork of James Madison, provided for the separate branches of government: the executive, the judiciary, and a bicameral legislature.
Under the Virginia plan, the lower house would be elected directly by the people. These delegates in turn would choose the members of the upper house from nominations made by the state legislatures. Each state was to receive representation in both chambers in proportion to its population or to the amount of its contribution to the national treasury. The national legislature was to have all the authority of the Confederation Congress, additional powers to meet situations beyond the competence of the separate states, and the right to annual state laws that violated the Articles of Union. Further, under the Virginia plan the legislature was to select an executive, eligible for only one term, and a national judiciary, including supreme and inferior courts. The judiciary was to have jurisdiction over maritime questions, cases involving foreigners, and matters affecting the “national peace and harmony.” The executive and a “convenient number of the national judiciary” were to constitute a council of revision, which could veto acts of the national legislature.
The Constitutional Convention on May 30 formed itself into a committee of the whole and debated the Virginia plan until June 13, when the delegates received a report embodying Randolph's program in 19 resolutions. Many at the Philadelphia gathering, especially members from the smaller states, were hostile to the Virginia vision of the United States. On June 15, William Paterson of New Jersey presented a set of revisions of the Articles of Confederation more in accord with their philosophy. On June 19, after three days of debate, the delegates voted to pursue the formation of a new government following the Virginia guidelines.
Virginia's Plan of Union, altered by some significant compromises, became the basis of the Constitution, which the convention formulated during July and August. The delegates made representation in the lower house proportional to population, but assigned an equal number of seats in the upper house to each state. Among other important changes the state legislatures received the right to select the members of the upper house, and the president became eligible for reelection. On September 17 the convention gave its final approval to the proposed Constitution and referred it, via the Congress, to the states for ratification.
Convening in October 1787, the Virginia legislature immediately considered the convocation of a ratification convention. The House wanted to schedule the special election of delegates for March 1788 and the convention for May, but acquiesced in the Senate's request to delay these events until April and June respectively. Both supporters and opponents of the proposed Constitution thus had months to try to convince the populace of the correctness of their positions.
Antifederalist propagandists managed to produce much more newsprint than did the supporters of the Constitution. Statements against the new frame of government by the revolutionary firebrand Richard Henry Lee, and by two Virginia delegates to the Philadelphia convention, namely George Mason and Edmund Randolph who both refused to sign the completed Constitution, circulated through the state. Federalist writers were not so prolific, and not even the Federalist papers were so influential as the statements by the Virginia dissidents.
However, the Federalists proved more adept than their opponents in the focusing of campaigns on specific contests and in the selection of candidates. The advocates of the new Constitution paid special attention to the area west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which would elect 46 delegates and where almost no printed matter had circulated. They also put forward as candidates many military heroes, in the hope that the voters might associate them with the revered George Washington, the Federalists' best asset.
April's election of delegates to the Virginia ratifying convention justified the Federalists tactics. They won 85 seats or fully one-half of 170 contests. The Antifederalists could count 66 of the victors in their ranks and perhaps three others categorized as “doubtful.” Little is known about 16 of the delegates-12 of whom came from what is now Kentucky and 4 from the Trans -Allegheny region.
Patrick Henry led the Antifederalist forces in the ratifying convention. George Mason, who refused to sign the new Constitution because it allowed the continuation of the slave trade and permitted the imposition of duties on commerce by a simple majority rather than by a two-thirds vote, assisted him. Henry managed to convert three of the supposed Federalists by his vivid descriptions of the loss of liberty that he claimed ratification would produce, and won over ten of the Kentuckians with arguments that the federal authorities would bargain away the rights of navigation of the Mississippi River.
Having no single delegate capable of matching Patrick Henry in prestige and oratorical powers, the Federalists made maximum use of the number of highly capable individuals in their ranks. Edmund Pendleton and George Wythe lent their prestige to the Federalist cause, and James Madison and John Marshall provided two keen intellects to counter Henry's arguments. Madison's success in persuading Edmund Randolph to change his mind and support ratification not only embarrassed the Antifederalists, but added a shrewd political strategist to the Federalist side. By their combined efforts the Federalists managed to persuade the four Trans-Alleghenians, two of the Kentuckians, and one of the “doubtful” delegates to affirm the new Constitution. When the final tally was taken on June 25, 1788, the Federalists had won by 89 to 79 votes.
A variety of factors produced a Federalist victory in Virginia. Especially important was the harsh wartime experience of Virginia, which convinced many of the necessity for a strong Union. There was also the influence of most of Virginia's greatest statesmen, including the incomparable George Washington. Virginia's ratification of the Constitution on June 25, 1788, has led historians to rank the state 10th in the chronological list of the admission of states to the Union.