Virginia and the
Establishment of the
United States of America
Virginians Help Create a National
Government for the United States
• Constitution – a plan of
government.
• In 1787 leaders from
each state met in
Philadelphia to draw up
a national constitution
for the new country.
• The actions and ideas of
Virginians formed the
basis for the new
constitutional
government of the
United States.
Virginians Help Create a National
Government for the United States
• James Madison, a
Virginian, believed in
the importance of
having a United
States constitution.
• He kept detailed
notes during the
Constitutional
Convention in
Philadelphia in 1787.
James Madison –
“Father of the Constitution”
• His skills at compromise
helped the delegates
reach agreement during
the difficult process of
writing the Constitution of
the United States of
America.
• This earned him the title
the “Father of the
Constitution.”
George Washington –
“Father of Our Country”
• George Washington
was a Virginian.
• Commander of the
Continental Army
during the
Revolutionary War.
• He was President of
the Constitutional
Convention.
George Washington –
“Father of Our Country”
• He was elected as the
first President of the
United States of America.
• He provided the strong
leadership needed to
help the young country.
• He also provided a model
of leadership for future
presidents.
• Therefore, he is often
called the “Father of Our
Country.”
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• The Virginia
Declaration of Rights
was written by a
Virginian named
George Mason.
• It is a document that
says that all
Virginians should
have certain rights.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Right - Freedom of
Religion.
• Religion is the way
people worship the God
or gods they believe in.
• Mason believed the
government should not
be able to tell people
what church to attend or
make them go to church
at all!
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Right - Freedom of
the Press.
• Mason believed that
newspapers should
be able to print the
truth and should not
be controlled by the
government.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Right - The right to a
trial by jury.
• Mason felt that even
people who broke the
law should have
rights. One of these
rights is the right to a
trial by jury.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• The document
became the basis for
the Bill of Rights for
the Constitution of the
United States of
America.
The Constitution of the United
States and the Bill of Rights
• The Bill of Rights was
added to the U.S.
Constitution in 1791.
Much of it was based on
the Virginia Declaration of
Rights written by George
Mason.
• The Bill of Rights became
the first ten amendments
to the U.S. Constitution.
• Amendment – a change
or an addition to a
document.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• The Virginia Statute
for Religious Freedom
was written by a
Virginian named
Thomas Jefferson.
• It says that all people
should be free to
practice their religion
as they please or not
to practice any
religion at all.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• This document was the
basis for the First
Amendment to the
Constitution of the United
States of America.
• The amendment protects
religious freedom.
• This is the first of the ten
amendments that make
up the Bill of Rights to the
U.S. Constitution.
What Do These Two Documents
Have In Common?
• The ideas expressed in the Virginia
Declaration of Rights (Mason) and the
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
(Jefferson) served as models for the Bill of
Rights of the Constitution of the United
States of America.