FOOTNOTES:

But before the meeting of the convention of May 6, 1776, sentiment had changed. Jefferson said that nine out of every ten persons were now for independence.[58]In February, Benjamin Harrison had hinted strongly that the time was ripe for separation. In January Washington had written Joseph Reed that "a few more such flaming arguments" as Falmouth andNorfolk would not leave many to oppose a separation. On April 12 John Page predicted that independence would be voted in the approaching convention; two days later Carter Braxton expressed the opinion that independence was not only desirable but inevitable; Pendleton, though greatly disturbed at the prospect of separation, thought that no other course was possible.

There was great excitement in Williamsburg when the delegates arrived to take their seats in the Hall of Burgesses for the opening of the convention. The crowds which filled the gallery must have pointed out eachdistinguishedmember as he entered—the aged Richard Bland; George Mason, his black hair now showing a touch of gray; Patrick Henry, in the plain garb he always wore; Richard Henry Lee, who had been called from Congress by the illness of his wife; James Madison, a small delicate young man, widely known as a scholar and political thinker; Edmund Pendleton, six feet in height, lithe, and handsome; Robert Carter Nicholas, Henry Lee, Edmund Randolph.[59]

On the question of independence there were three opinions. Nicholas was opposed to separation, for he thought there was still hope for conciliation. Henry wished Congress to establish independence through a declaration. Pendleton argued for a statement by the convention and by Congress that independence already existed by the action of King and Parliament.

In the end Pendleton was directed to prepare a resolution on independence. So, on May 15, Thomas Nelson, Junior, rose and read two resolutions which Pendleton had drawn up:

Forasmuch as all the endeavors of the United Colonies, by the most decent representations and petitions to the King and Parliament of Great Britain to restore peace and security to America under the British government, and a reunion with that people upon just and liberal terms, instead of a redress of grievances, have produced, from an imperious and vindictive administration, increased insult, oppression, and a vigorous attempt to effect our total destruction. By a late act, all these colonies are declared to be in rebellion, and out of the protection of the British Crown; our properties subjected to confiscation; our people, when captivated, compelled to join in the murder and plunder of their relations and countrymen; and all former rapine and oppression of Americans declared legal and just. Fleets and armies are raised, and the aid of foreign troops engaged to assist in these destructive purposes.

The King's representative in this colony hath not only withheld all the powers of government from operating for our safety, but, having retired on board an armed ship, is carrying on a piratical and savage war against us, tempting our slaves by every artifice to resort to him, and training and employing them against their masters. In this state of extreme danger, we have no alternative left but an abject submission to the will of those overbearing tyrants, or a total separation from the Crown and government of Great Britain, uniting and exerting the strength of all America for defence, and forming alliances with foreign powers for commerce and aid in war: Wherefore, appealing to the SEARCHER OF HEARTS for the sincerity of former declarations, expressing our desire to preserve the connection with that nation, and that we are driven from that inclination by their wicked councils, and the eternal laws of self-preservation:Resolved, unanimously, That the delegates appointed to represent this colony in the General Congress, be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent states, absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence upon the Crown or Parliament of Great Britain; and that they give the assent of this colony to such declaration, and to whatever measures may be thought proper and necessary by the Congress for forming foreign alliances, and a confederation of the colonies, at such time, and in the manner as to them shall seem best; Provided, the power of forming government for, and the regulations of the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the respective colonial legislatures.Resolved unanimously, That a committee be appointed to prepare a DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, and such a plan of government as will be most likely to maintain peace and order in this colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the people.

Resolved, unanimously, That the delegates appointed to represent this colony in the General Congress, be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent states, absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence upon the Crown or Parliament of Great Britain; and that they give the assent of this colony to such declaration, and to whatever measures may be thought proper and necessary by the Congress for forming foreign alliances, and a confederation of the colonies, at such time, and in the manner as to them shall seem best; Provided, the power of forming government for, and the regulations of the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the respective colonial legislatures.

Resolved unanimously, That a committee be appointed to prepare a DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, and such a plan of government as will be most likely to maintain peace and order in this colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the people.

The people of Virginia everywhere applauded this final breach with Great Britain. In Williamsburg the "Union flag of the American states" was raised over the Capitol. The troops, under General Lewis, wheeled and marched in a nearby grove in the presence of the members of the Committee of Safety and of the convention and a crowd of citizens. After the resolutions of the convention had been read to the troops, a toast was proposed to "The American Independent States," which was drunk to the shouts of the crowd and the firing of the artillery. Then followed toasts to "The Grand Congress of the United States and their Respective Legislatures," and to "General Washington and Victory for the American Arms."With coming of night the people illuminated the town amid demonstrations of joy "that the domination of Great Britain was now at an end."[60]

The resolutions of the convention were tantamount to a Virginia declaration of independence. Though it was thought wise to act in concert with the other colonies, the convention did not wait for Congress, but proceeded to draw up a constitution for an independent state, with Governor, Senate, House of Delegates, and judiciary. One hundred and sixty-nine years, almost to a day, after Captain Christopher Newport planted the English flag on the Jamestown peninsula, English authority in Virginia was overthrown.

As the delegates rode home after the convention had concluded its work, the minds of some must have gone over the developments of those seventeen decades, the heritage of self-government which their ancestors had brought with them from England, the struggle to defend their liberty against the assaults of despotic Kings and despotic Governors, the spirit of self-reliance fostered by life in the New World, and now the attempts of a reactionary government in Great Britain to turn back the hands of the clock and deprive them of the rights they had won. It had been James I and Charles I, and even George III who, in their dealings with the colonies, had insisted upon "obedience," but the colonists insisted upon another word, the word "liberty." Now that they had won liberty, it remained to be seen whether they could preserve it against the attacks of the British armies and navy. And none could foresee that at Yorktown, but a few miles away, British armed might in America was destined to be broken, as its political power had already been broken at Williamsburg.

FOOTNOTES:[1]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., Oct. 27, 1768.[2]Ibid.[3]CO5-1332, Feb. 18, 1769.[4]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., May 18, 1769.[5]Ibid.[6]CO5-1332, Botetourt to Hillsborough, May 19, 1769.[7]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1766-1769: 227.[8]Virginia Gazette, P. and D. Oct. 18, 1770.[9]Ibid., Supplement.[10]William Smith,Diary, Dec. 1, 1770; July 9, 1771.[11]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., Sept. 17, 1771.[12]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 1: 7.[13]Ibid.[14]T. J. Wertenbaker,Norfolk: historic southern port, 55.[15]Journal of Philip Vickers Fithian, ed. H. D. Farish, 257.[16]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 1: 9.[17]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776: 124.[18]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., June 2, 1774.[19]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 1: 11.[20]Ibid., 10.[21]Lower Norfolk County Antiquary5: 32-35.[22]Writings of George Washington, ed. Jared Sparks, 2: 389.[23]Dunmore papers, No. 22.[24]Burke's speech, ed. S. C. Newsom, 105, 106.[25]Dunmore papers, Dunmore to Dartmouth, March 14, 1775.[26]Ibid., No. 28.[27]Ibid., No. 30.[28]Ibid., No. 26.[29]William Wirt,Life of Patrick Henry, 139-141.[30]Philip Vickers Fithian, journal, eds. Albion and Dodson, 24.[31]Dunmore papers, no. 26.[32]Ibid.[33]The Virginia Gazette, Pinckney, May 11, 1775.[34]Dunmore papers, No. 28.[35]Ibid.[36]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776: 174, 175.[37]Ibid., pp. 219-221.[38]Dunmore papers, No. 28.[39]Ibid.[40]Ibid., No. 29.[41]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776.[42]Dunmore papers, No. 22.[43]Proceedings of the Convention, etc.; C. R. Lingley,Transition in Virginia.[44]Ibid.[45]Dunmore papers, No. 29.[46]Ibid., No. 22.[47]T. J. Wertenbaker,Norfolk: historic southern port, 57, 67.[48]Dunmore papers, No. 32.[49]American Archives, Fourth Ser. 4: 343.[50]Richmond College historical papers1: 101.[51]Ibid., 115-121.[52]Ibid., 138, 139, 148.[53]Lower Norfolk County Antiquary2: 80.[54]American Archives, Fourth Ser. 4: 540;Virginia Magazine23: 414.[55]Ibid., Fifth Ser. 1: 150, 151, 431, 432.[56]Dunmore papers, No. 27.[57]American Archives4: 391.[58]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 4: 255.[59]H. B. Grigsby,The Virginia convention of 1776.[60]Virginia Gazette, Purdie, May 17, 1776.

[1]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., Oct. 27, 1768.

[2]Ibid.

[3]CO5-1332, Feb. 18, 1769.

[4]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., May 18, 1769.

[5]Ibid.

[6]CO5-1332, Botetourt to Hillsborough, May 19, 1769.

[7]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1766-1769: 227.

[8]Virginia Gazette, P. and D. Oct. 18, 1770.

[9]Ibid., Supplement.

[10]William Smith,Diary, Dec. 1, 1770; July 9, 1771.

[11]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., Sept. 17, 1771.

[12]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 1: 7.

[13]Ibid.

[14]T. J. Wertenbaker,Norfolk: historic southern port, 55.

[15]Journal of Philip Vickers Fithian, ed. H. D. Farish, 257.

[16]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 1: 9.

[17]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776: 124.

[18]Virginia Gazette, P. and D., June 2, 1774.

[19]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 1: 11.

[20]Ibid., 10.

[21]Lower Norfolk County Antiquary5: 32-35.

[22]Writings of George Washington, ed. Jared Sparks, 2: 389.

[23]Dunmore papers, No. 22.

[24]Burke's speech, ed. S. C. Newsom, 105, 106.

[25]Dunmore papers, Dunmore to Dartmouth, March 14, 1775.

[26]Ibid., No. 28.

[27]Ibid., No. 30.

[28]Ibid., No. 26.

[29]William Wirt,Life of Patrick Henry, 139-141.

[30]Philip Vickers Fithian, journal, eds. Albion and Dodson, 24.

[31]Dunmore papers, no. 26.

[32]Ibid.

[33]The Virginia Gazette, Pinckney, May 11, 1775.

[34]Dunmore papers, No. 28.

[35]Ibid.

[36]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776: 174, 175.

[37]Ibid., pp. 219-221.

[38]Dunmore papers, No. 28.

[39]Ibid.

[40]Ibid., No. 29.

[41]Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776.

[42]Dunmore papers, No. 22.

[43]Proceedings of the Convention, etc.; C. R. Lingley,Transition in Virginia.

[44]Ibid.

[45]Dunmore papers, No. 29.

[46]Ibid., No. 22.

[47]T. J. Wertenbaker,Norfolk: historic southern port, 57, 67.

[48]Dunmore papers, No. 32.

[49]American Archives, Fourth Ser. 4: 343.

[50]Richmond College historical papers1: 101.

[51]Ibid., 115-121.

[52]Ibid., 138, 139, 148.

[53]Lower Norfolk County Antiquary2: 80.

[54]American Archives, Fourth Ser. 4: 540;Virginia Magazine23: 414.

[55]Ibid., Fifth Ser. 1: 150, 151, 431, 432.

[56]Dunmore papers, No. 27.

[57]American Archives4: 391.

[58]The writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. A. A. Lipscomb, 4: 255.

[59]H. B. Grigsby,The Virginia convention of 1776.

[60]Virginia Gazette, Purdie, May 17, 1776.

Any political history of Virginia in the colonial period must be based chiefly on the documents in the British Public Record Office. During many months of work in this office the author made more than eight hundred pages of notes and transcripts which he has used freely in the writing of this volume. The notations CO1-3, CO5-1318, etc., in the footnotes all refer to the Public Record Office.

It is especially fortunate that these documents have been preserved, since of the copies left in Virginia, when there were copies, most have been destroyed. Among the scores of manuscript volumes on Virginia in the Record Office, thirty-two are devoted to the correspondence of the Board of Trade, seventeen to the correspondence of the Secretary of State, twenty-two to Entry Books, letters, commissions, warrants, etc., for the period from 1680 to the American Revolution alone.

In this vast collection are found the instructions to governors; memorials concerning the clergy, the revenue, the College of William and Mary; addresses of the Assembly to the Throne; reports of special agents of the Crown; accusations against governors; nominations to office; the journals of the Council and of the House of Burgesses.

During the second half of the nineteenth century William Noel Sainsbury, Assistant Keeper of the Records, made no less than twenty volumes of abstracts of these documents, which have been deposited in the Virginia State Library. They cover the long period from the founding of the colony to 1730. The McDonald Papers, also transcribed from the documents in the Public Record Office, and also deposited in the Virginia State Library, parallel the Sainsbury abstracts, but they are fuller and give some papers overlooked by Sainsbury. The author spent the summer of 1908 in Richmond to study these papers, but they merely whetted his desire to see the original collection. So June, 1910, found him in the chilly old building off Chancery Lane, London, immersed in the musty but fascinating mass of documents.

Virginia historians today no longer have to make the journey across the Atlantic, for the United States Government has hadtranscriptions made of the papers relating to our colonial history for the Library of Congress. Moreover, the journals of the House of Burgesses and the journals of the Council have been published. Many other documents in the Public Record Office have been published in part or in full in theCalendar of State Papers,Colonial Series, America and West Indies, and in historical magazines.

The Coventry papers relating to Virginia, Barbados, and other colonies, at Longleat, the magnificent residence of the Marquess of Bath, which have been microfilmed by the American Council of Learned Societies, throw a flood of light on Virginia history, especially upon Bacon's Rebellion. They contain letters from Bacon to Berkeley, from Berkeley to Bacon, and from Philip Ludwell to Lady Berkeley, reports from the Virginia agents who were seeking a charter for the colony, Berkeley's account of the evacuation of Jamestown, and many other valuable documents. They give new and overwhelming evidence that Bacon and his followers rose in arms, not only to protect the people from the Indians, but to right their wrongs under Berkeley's government.

The American Council of Learned Societies was also responsible for the microfilming of the Sackville manuscripts belonging to the Earl of Dorset. They contain letters to the British Government from the Virginia House of Burgesses and from the Council in 1631, and throw a gleam of light on an obscure period.

The correspondence of Lord Dunmore and Lord Dartmouth, in the British Public Record Office, is vital to any account of the early years of the Revolution in Virginia. In his letters Dunmore reports on the committees of correspondence, the boycott, the plight of the Tories, his conflict with the Assembly, the arming of the patriots, his flight from Williamsburg, his seizure of Norfolk, etc. This correspondence is available to scholars in microfilm in the Library of Congress.

W. W. Hening (ed.),The Statutes at Large(1809-1823), in thirteen volumes, are indispensable to the historian. In addition to the Virginia laws it publishes a few extremely important documents.

The county records throw light on local government and the use of the patronage by the governors to control the Assembly. It is unfortunate that many documents in the county courthouses were destroyed in the Revolution and the War between the States. Yet the records of Surry, York, Essex, Rappahannock, Accomac, Elizabeth City, and other counties have been preserved.

Peter Force (ed.),Tracts and Other Papers(1836), has many valuable documents relating to early Virginia history. The accounts of Bacon's Rebellion are of especial interest. Edward Arber (ed.),The Works of Captain John Smith(1910), is a main source for the founding and early history of Jamestown. But Smith's tendency to glorify himself and the probability that he colored his account to further the designs of King James I and the court party have caused many historians to distrust much that he has written.

Alexander Brown,Genesis of the United States(1890), gives many documents on early Virginia history which had long been inaccessible to scholars. Other publications of documents or early histories are Susan M. Kingsbury (ed.),The Records of the Virginia Company of London(1906-1935); J. C. Hotten (ed.),Original Lists of Emigrants to America, 1606-1700(1874);Lower Norfolk CountyAntiquary; Lyon G. Tyler (ed.),Narratives of Early Virginia(1907); Charles M. Andrews (ed.),Narratives of Insurrections(1915); Clayton C. Hall (ed.),Narratives of Early Maryland(1910); and Edmund Goldsmid (ed.),Hakluyt's,The Principal Navigations(1885-1890).

R. A. Brock (ed.),The Official Records of Robert Dinwiddie(1883-1884); while of great value, is incomplete, since many letters in the British Public Record Office have been omitted. R. A. Brock (ed.),The Original Letters of Alexander Spotswood(1882-1885), from the manuscript collection in possession of the Virginia Historical Society, is also far from complete.

Among the historical magazines which have published documents relating to Virginia the most important areThe Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,William and Mary College Quarterly,Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, and theMassachusetts Historical Society, Proceedings.

Three narratives, Henry Hartwell, James Blair, and Edward Chilton,The Present State of Virginia and the College; Robert Beverley,The History and Present State of Virginia; and Hugh Jones,The Present State of Virginia, have all the value of primary sources. The Hartwell, Blair, and Chilton history waswritten in 1697 and first published by John Wyat at the Rose, in St. Paul's churchyard, London, in 1727. It was republished in 1940, with an able introduction by Hunter D. Farish. Beverley's volume appeared in 1705, and a new edition was published in 1947. Hugh Jones' history came out in 1724, was reprinted in 1865 in a limited edition, and republished in 1956. The last edition, edited by Richard L. Morton, has a valuable introduction, and more than a hundred pages of illuminating notes.

There are a number of histories of Virginia. William Stith,The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia(1747), is little more than a rehash of Captain John Smith's story. John Burk,The History of Virginia(1822), though more critical, is out of date since the author did not have access to a mass of documents now available to the historian. The same criticism applies to Charles Campbell,History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia(1860). Henry Howe,Historical Collections of Virginia(1845), brings together many facts, traditions, and biographical sketches. It also gives brief descriptions of contemporaneous life in the various counties. John Fiske'sOld Virginia and her Neighbors(1900), is interesting, but untrustworthy. Edward D. Neill,Early Settlement of Virginia and Virginiola(1878),The English Colonization of America during the Seventeenth Century(1871),History of the Virginia Company of London(1869),Virginia Vetusta(1885), andVirginia Carolorum(1886), are based on primary sources and are still valuable. John Esten Cooke,Virginia: A History of the People(1884), is interesting but full of mistakes.

Other works on early Virginia history are Alexander Brown,The First Republic in America(1898), T. J. Wertenbaker,Virginia under the Stuarts(1914); Mary Newton Stanard,The Story of Virginia's First Century(1928); Matthew Page Andrews,The Soul of a Nation(1943), andVirginia, the Old Dominion(1937); William Foote,Sketches of Virginia(1850); Robert R. Howison,A History of Virginia(1848); Conway W. Sams,The Conquest of Virginia(1924); and Wesley Frank Craven,Dissolution of the Virginia Company(1932).

In 1957 the Virginia 350th Anniversary Celebration Corporation published a series of booklets on seventeenth-century Virginia history under the able editorship of Dr. Earl G. Swem.Among them are E. G. Swem and John M. Jennings,A Selected Bibliography of Virginia, 1607-1699; William W. Abbot,A Virginia Chronology, 1585-1783; Samuel M. Bemiss (ed.),The Three Charters of the Virginia Company of London; Wesley Frank Craven,The Virginia Company of London; Charles E. Hatch, Jr.,The First Seventeen Years at Jamestown, 1607-1634; Thomas J. Wertenbaker,Bacon's RebellionandThe Government of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century; Richard L. Morton,Struggle against Tyranny and the Beginning of a New Era; Martha W. Hiden,How Justice Grew. Dr. Wilcomb E. Washburn,Virginia under Charles I and Cromwell, takes issue with most Virginia historians by coming to the defense of Governor John Harvey who was kicked out of Virginia because of his despotic rule, abuse of the courts, and disregard of law.

Among the special studies relating to the political history of Virginia are Philip A. Bruce,The Institutional History of Virginia(1910); Julian A. C. Chandler,The History of Suffrage in Virginia(1901); Oliver P. Chitwood,Justice in Colonial Virginia(1905); Percy S. Flippin,Financial Administration of the Colony of Virginia(1915); Armistead C. Gordon,The Laws of Bacon's Assembly(1914); Albert O. Porter,County Government in Virginia(1947); Mary N. Stanard,The Story of Bacon's Rebellion(1907); R. T. Barton,Colonial Decisions(1909); Edward Ingle,Virginia Local Institutions(1885); Elmer I. Miller,The Legislature of the Province of Virginia(1907); Lyon G. Tyler,The Cradle of the Republic(1906); Moncure D. Conway,Omitted Chapters(1888); H. J. Eckenrode,The Revolution in Virginia(1916); Hugh Blair Grigsby,The Virginia Convention of 1776(1855); Charles R. Lingley,The Transition in Virginia from Colony to Commonwealth(1910); Charles S. Sydnor,Gentlemen Freeholders, Political Practices in Washington's Virginia(1952); Curtis P. Nettels,George Washington and American Independence(1951).

Biographies of prominent Virginians seem to come in pairs. There are two biographies of William Claiborne, Norton C. Hale,Virginia Venturer(1951), and John H. Claiborne,William Claiborne of Virginia(1917); two biographies devoted to the Lee family, Burton J. Hendrick,The Lees of Virginia(1935), and Cazenove G. Lee, Jr.,Lee Chronicle(1956); two short studies of James Blair, Daniel E. Motley,Life of Commissary James Blair(1901), and Edgar L. Pennington,Commissary Blair(1936); two biographies of Edmund Pendleton, Robert L. Hilldrup,The Life and Times of Edmund Pendleton(1939), and David J. Mays,Edmund Pendleton(1952); there are several biographies of Captain John Smith.

Philip A. Bruce,The Virginia Plutarch(1929), gives brief biographies of Sir William Berkeley, Nathaniel Bacon, Alexander Spotswood, William Byrd II, Patrick Henry, and others. Among other biographies are Richmond C. Beatty,William Byrd of Westover(1932); Thomas J. Wertenbaker,Torchbearer of the Revolution, The Story of Bacon's Rebellion and Its Leader(1940); Leonidas Dodson,Alexander Spotswood(1932); Louis K. Koontz,Robert Dinwiddie(1941); Louis Morton,Robert Carter of Nomini Hall(1941); Kate Mason Rowland,Life and Correspondence of George Mason(1892); William Wirt Henry,Patrick Henry(1891); A. T. S. Goodrick,Edward Randolph(1898-1909); Thomas Jefferson,Autobiography.

There are numerous Virginia local histories, among them W. Asbury Christian,Richmond, Her Past and Present(1912); (1931); Ralph T. Whitelaw,Virginia's Eastern Shore(1951); John B. Bodie,Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia(1938); Marshall Wingfield,A History of Caroline County, Virginia(1924); and Herbert C. Bradshaw,History of Prince Edward County, Virginia(1955).

The Virginia Gazetteis a major source for the history of Virginia in the eighteenth century. The scattered numbers still in existence have been photostated and copies deposited in some of the larger libraries. Their usefulness has been greatly enhanced by the preparation of an Index by Lester J. Cappon and Stella F. Duff.

Virginia historians will always be grateful to Dr. Earl G. Swem for hisVirginia Historical Index, coveringThe Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, volumes 1-38;William and Mary College Quarterly, first series, volumes 1-27; second series, volumes 1-10; Hening'sStatutes at Large, and other publications.

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