How many constitutions has Virginia had in its history?
There are different ways to characterize Virginia’s constitutional history. Following the Library of Virginia, we recognize seven different constitutions, with other modifications of note.
Constitutions
(in reverse order by effective date)
Jump to each year:
1971 – 1956 – 1945 – 1928 – 1902 – 1869-70 – 1864 – 1851 – 1830 – 1776 – 1606
1971: Constitution #7
This is the current version of the Constitution. Part of a nationwide wave of constitutional reform spurred in part by the civil rights movement, this constitution technically consists of a series of amendments to the constitution from 1902. The revisions were approved by public referendum in 1970 and implemented by legislation in 1971.
1956: Limited Convention
This revision is not typically included in any “official” list of Constitutions. In response to the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision, white segregationists used a limited constitutional convention to only amend the specific sections of the Constitution that concerned public education. The changes allowed public funds to be used for vouchers for white families, and allowed the state to close public schools rather than allow desegregation.
1945: Limited Convention
This revision is not typically included in any “official” list of Constitutions. The Byrd Machine that ran the state wanted to enable members of the military to vote in elections without loosening the voting restrictions that enabled them to prevent Black Virginians from voting. So they organized a constitutional convention, but one that could only consider this particular voting issue, and successfully amended the constitution.
1928: Parliamentary Procedure
This revision is not typically included in any “official” list of Constitutions, as Governor Harry Byrd and his allies in the General Assembly bypassed typical amendment processes. Still, they enacted significant changes to the previous Constitution in order to strengthen the power of the Governor and, by extension, the “Byrd Machine” that controlled state politics through much of the 20th century.
1902: Constitution #6
Drafted by a constitutional convention of 100 (white, male) delegates and instituted without a public referendum, this constitution’s express purpose was to create rules to prevent Black Virginians from voting and further embed segregation into Virginia institutions. Technically this was the last full constitutional convention in Virginia, so all subsequent constitutional changes are amendments to this document.
1869-70: Constitution #5
During Reconstruction, Congress required former Confederate states to institute a new constitution before their representatives would be allowed to rejoin the national legislature. The 1867-68 convention included 24 Black men, and drafted a document that included a Bill of Rights for all and free public education. Voters overwhelmingly approved this constitution by referendum, but only because provisions punishing former Confederates were provided separately (and voted down). There is some dispute about the effective date of this Constitution, as Virginia voters approved it in 1869, but Reconstruction rules required Congressional approval, which happened the following year.
1864: Constitution #4
Delegates from the Restored Government of Virginia, made up of Union-allied counties, formed a convention in 1864 to draft and ratify a new constitution. The chief aim of the convention was to officially abolish slavery, although other reforms were included. Although discredited as illegitimate by some scholars (the Library of Virginia says this scholarship is “defective” and “misled nearly all of us until quite recently”), this constitution was the governing document of Virginia through the ratification of the 1869-70 revision.
1851: Constitution #3
The 1850-51 constitutional convention drafted a document to modernize Virginia government, allowing universal white male suffrage and a more fully developed judicial system. However, it also further protected and enshrined slavery into the state’s electoral and governing systems. It was overwhelmingly ratified by a popular referendum in 1851.
1830: Constitution #2
Ratified by voters in 1830, the document drafted by an 1829-30 constitutional convention somewhat expanded the electorate and organized the original (and haphazard) constitution’s provisions more clearly. Still, the main purpose of the convention was to balance power between the western and eastern parts of the state while protecting the rights of slaveholders.
1776: Constitution #1
Virginia leaders had been meeting in unsanctioned “shadow government” conventions since at least 1773. The last of these informal meetings, the Fifth Revolutionary Convention, met from May through July 1776 and drafted a “Constitution or Form of Government,” the first among the former colonies. It essentially converted the existing House of Burgesses to the House of Delegates, and added a state Senate; wary of executive power due to their experience with colonial governors, the document’s authors limited the executive branch and mostly left existing colonial judicial systems intact. Without any clear means for a popular vote, the convention simply declared the constitution to be in effect and it remained so until its replacement five decades later.
1606: Colonial Charter
Virginia started as a British colony, and was granted authority through a colonial charter. While not typically listed among its constitutions, this charter was Virginia’s first governing document.