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Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830

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The Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1830, by George Catlin

The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830 was a constitutional convention for the state of Virginia, held in Richmond from October 5, 1829, to January 15, 1830.

Background and composition

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History of Virginia
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Almost immediately, the Constitution of 1776 was recognized as flawed both for its restriction of the suffrage by property requirements, and for its malapportionment favoring the smaller eastern counties. Between 1801 and 1813, petitioners called on the Assembly to initiate a constitutional convention ten times. The House of Delegates passed a bill twice, but the conservative eastern planter majority in the Virginia Senate killed both measures. Continuing growth in the western parts of the state led to another fifteen years of agitation. Several counties in the Eastern Shore, northern Piedmont and western counties began opening polls for direct expression from the voters for a constitutional convention; eventually there were twenty-eight such counties calling for reform.[1]

Malapportionment in the Assembly was seen as "an usurpation of the minority over the majority" by the slave owning eastern aristocracy. Partisans argued for apportionment by white population, versus "federal numbers" combining white population with three-fifths slaves, versus the existing system counting whites and slaves equally to favor the slave-holding eastern counties. After several General Assembly sessions with close votes for calling a convention, in 1828, the Assembly allowed for a statewide ballot for "Convention", "Neutral" or "No Convention". It passed by 56.8 percent, with most convention support coming from west of the Blue Ridge Mountains northwest to the Ohio River. But the easterners in the State Senate had stacked the deck in their favor, by apportioning the delegates by four per Senate district, producing a group of men which was more wealthy and more conservative than the House of Delegates.[2]

The last "gathering of giants"[3] from the Revolutionary generation included former presidents James Madison and James Monroe, and sitting Chief Justice John Marshall. But three generations were represented among those who would serve in public office including three presidents, seven U.S. Senators, fifteen U.S. Representatives and four governors. The other delegates to the Convention were sitting judges or members of the Virginia General Assembly.[4]

Meeting and debate

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Philip P. Barbour, presiding officer

The Convention met from October 5, 1829 – January 15, 1830, and elected former president James Monroe of Loudoun its presiding officer. On December 8, Monroe withdrew due to failing health, and the Convention elected Philip P. Barbour as its new presiding officer. Barbour was a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a sitting federal district judge, and a future Justice on the Supreme Court. Conservatives among the Old Republicans such as John Randolph of Roanoke feared any change from the Founders' 1776 Constitution would lead to an ideological anarchy of "wild abstractions" imposed by egalitarian "French Jacobins" through "this maggot of innovation". In answer, John Marshall advanced his view with a petition from the freeholders of Richmond which observed that, "Virtue, intelligence, are not among the products of the soil. Attachment to [slave] property, often a sordid sentiment, is not to be confounded with the sacred flame of patriots." Any white male who had served in the War of 1812 or who would serve in the militia in there future defense of the country deserved the right to vote.[5]

Abel P. Upshur, a judge on the Virginia General Court, spoke for conservatives when he asserted that there "is a majority of interest as well as a majority in number". Because both persons and property were the "elements of society", majority rule by the people alone was not an equitable solution. "Those who have the greatest [property] stake in the Government…[must] have the greatest share of power in the administration of it." Lawyer John R. Cooke, a veteran of the War of 1812 countered that delegates must base the Constitution and legislative representation on the wishes of citizens, "the white population…[looking] to the people" for its authority, not only the wealthy, not to sectional slave-holding interests, and "not to the supposed rights of the [unequally populated] counties."[6]

Reformers' efforts to adopt direct popular election of the Governor were defeated in favor of continuing election by the General Assembly.[7] Thomas Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's grandson, proposed gradual emancipation, a suggestion which never made it out of committee onto the Convention floor.[8] The reformers lost on almost every issue. Nevertheless, even with the exaggerated Virginia Senate representation apportioning the delegates in favor of the status quo, the three most important roll calls were close. The "white" population basis of apportioning the General Assembly failed by two votes. The extension of the vote to all free white males failed by two votes. When the popular election of governor passed on its first vote, it failed on reconsideration. The divisions which would lead to West Virginia's split were evident. Regardless of the various ideologies represented or delegate political affiliation, the final vote 55 for the proposed Constitution to 40 against was along an east-west divide. Only one delegate voted yes from west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.[9]

Outcomes

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Capitol at Richmond VA, where Convention of 1829–30 met

Some malapportionment in the General Assembly was eased relative to the majority of voters and white population in the Valley in the House of Delegates, but nothing for the transmontane west. Some suffrage restrictions were modified to include long term leaseholders and male heads of household.[10] The Constitution of 1830 was a "triumph of traditionalism."[11]

Historical accounts of the convention often relay interpretations of Hugh B. Grigsby that emphasize it as the "last gathering of giants."[12] This approach typically omits names of the western reformers like Philip Doddridge who called for the convention in the first place. The "triumph of traditionalism" largely maintained traditional malapportionment preserving slaveowners’ disproportionate political power. This contributed to western Virginia counties’ later secession and formation of West Virginia led by Doddridge protégé Waitman T. Willey.

Delegates

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The delegates to the Convention of were elected in May and June, 1829. Each of the 24 senatorial districts sent four delegates to the convention, for a total of 96 members. Three districts elected another delegate to replace a vacant seat.[13]

District Delegate County Current Office Former Offices Future Offices Notes
1 John B. George Tazewell Assembly Delegate
Andrew McMilian Lee Assembly Delegate
Edward Campbell Washington
William Byars Washington Assembly Delegate
2 Gordon Cloyd Montgomery
Henley Chapman Giles Assembly Senator
John P. Mathews Wythe
William Oglesby Grayson Assembly Delegate
3 George Townes Cheserfield Assembly Senator
Benjamin W. S. Cabell Pittsylvania Assembly Senator
Joseph Martin Henry Assembly Senator
Archibald Stuart Patrick U.S. Representative
4 John Randolph Charlotte U.S. Senator; U.S. Representative
William Leigh Halifax Judge of the Virginia General Court
Richard Logan Halifax Assembly Senator
Richard N. Venable Prince Edward President of the Upper Appomattox Canal Co.
5 William Henry Brodnax Dinwiddie Brigadier General, Virginia Militia
George C. Groomgoole Brunswick
Mark Alexander Mecklenburg U.S. Representative
William O. Goode Mechlenburg U.S. Representative
6 John Y. Mason Southampton U.S. Representative, U.S. District Judge, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Navy
James Trezvant Southampton U.S. Representative
Augustine Claiborne Greensville Virginia Delegate
John Urquhart Southampton
7 Littleton W. Tazewell Norfolk Borough U.S. Senator Governor of Virginia
Joseph Prentis Nansemond
Robert B. Taylor Norfolk Borough Resigned
Hugh Blair Grigsby[1] Norfolk Borough Assembly Delegate
8 George Loyall Norfolk Borough U.S. Representative
Thomas R. Joynes Accomack Assembly Delegate
Thomas M. Bayly Accomack U.S. Representative
Calvin H. Read Northampton Assembly Delegate Died
9 Abel P. Upshur Northampton Justice of the Virginia General Court Secretary of the Navy; Secretary of State
John Marshall Richmond City U.S. Chief Justice
John Tyler Charles City U.S. Senator President of the U.S.
Philip N. Nicholas Richmond City Judge of the Virginia General Court
10 John B. Clopton New Kent Assembly Senator Judge of the Virginia General Court and Circuit Court
John Winston Jones Chesterfield U.S. Representative
Benjamin W. Leigh Chesterfield U.S. Senator
Samuel Taylor Chesterfield Assembly Senator
11 William B. Giles Amelia Governor
William Campbell Bedford Assembly Senator
Samuel Claytor Campbell
Callowhill Mennis Bedford Resigned
James Saunders Campbell Assembly Senator
12 Andrew Beirne Monroe U.S. Representative
William Smith Greenbrier U.S. Representative
Fleming B. Miller Botetourt Assembly Senator
John Baxter Pocahontas Assembly Senator
13 Edwin S. Duncan Harrison Assembly Senator
John Laidley Cabell Assembly Delegate
Lewis Summers Kanawha Assembly Delegate
Adam See Randolph Assembly Delegate
14 Philip Doddridge Brooke U.S. Representative
Charles S. Morgan Monongalia Assembly Senator
Alexander Campbell Brooke Ordained minister, leader of the Disciples of Christ Founder and president of Bethany College
Eugenius M. Wilson Monongalia
15 Briscoe G. Baldwin Augusta Major General, Virginia Militia Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court
Chapman Johnson Augusta Assembly Senator
William McCoy Pendleton U.S. Representative
Samuel M. Moore Rockbridge U.S. Representative
16 James Pleasants Goochland U.S. Senator; Governor of Virginia
William F. Gordon Albemarle U.S. Representative
Lucas P. Thompson Amherst Assembly Delegate
Thomas Massie, Jr. Nelson Assembly Delegate
17 James Madison Orange President of the U.S.
Philip P. Barbour Orange U.S. District Judge Speaker of the House Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Elected Presiding Officer after Monroe resigned the office
David Watson Louisa Assembly Delegate Died without attending
Robert Stanard Spotsylvania Virginia Justice
18 John Roane King William U.S. Representative
William P. Taylor Caroline U.S. Representative
Richard Morris Hanover Assembly Delegate
James M. Garnett Essex U.S. Representative
William A. G. Dade Prince William Assembly Senator Died
19 Ellyson Currie Lancaster Assembly Senator
John Taliaferro King George U.S. Representative
Fleming Bates Northumberland
John S. Barbour Culpeper U.S. Representative
John Scott Fauquier Assembly Senator
20 John Macrae Fauquier Assembly Delegate (1829 session)
Thomas Marshall Fauquier Assembly Delegate (1830 session)
John W. Green Culpeper Virginia Justice
Peachy Harrison Rockingham Assembly Senator
21 Jacob Williamson Rockingham
William Anderson Shenandoah Assembly Delegate
Samuel Coffman Shenandoah
William Naylor Hampshire Assembly Delegate
22 William Donaldson Hampshire Assembly Senator
Elisha Boyd Berkeley Assembly Delegate Brigadier General, Virginia Militia Assembly Senator
Philip Pendleton Berkeley U.S. Judge
John R. Cooke Frederick
23 Alfred H. Powell Frederick U.S. Representative
Hierome L. Opie Jefferson Resigned
James M. Mason Jefferson U.S. Senator
Thomas Griggs, Jr. Jefferson Assembly Delegate
24 James Monroe Loudoun President of the U.S. First Presiding Officer
Charles F. Mercer Loudoun U.S. Representative
William H. Fitzhugh Fairfax Assembly Senator
Richard H. Henderson Loudoun

Districts

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Approximate districts for the convention. Each district had 4 representatives.

Districts are numbered as follows for the table and map:

  1. Washington, Lee, Scott, Russell and Tazewell
  2. Wythe, Montgomery, Grayson and Giles
  3. Franklin, Patrick, Henry and Pittsylvania
  4. Charlotte, Halifax, and Prince Edward
  5. Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Lunenburg, and Mecklenburg
  6. Sussex, Surry, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Prince George, Greensville
  7. Norfolk, Princess Anne, Nansemond and Borough of Norfolk
  8. Mathews, Middlesex, Accomack, Northampton and Gloucester
  9. City of Williamsburg, Charles City, Elizabeth City, James City, City of Richmond,  Henrico, New Kent, Warwick and York
  10. Amelia, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Nottoway, Powhatan and Town of Petersburg
  11. Campbell, Buckingham and Bedford
  12. Monroe, Greenbriar, Bath, Botetourt, Alleghany, Pocahontas, Nicholas
  13. Kanawha, Mason, Cabell, Randolph, Harrison, Lewis, Wood and Logan
  14. Ohio, Tyler, Brooke, Monongalia and Preston
  15. Augusta, Rockbridge, Pendleton
  16. Albemarle, Amherst, Nelson, Fluvanna and Goochland
  17. Spotsylvania, Louisa, Orange, and Madison
  18. King William, King and Queen, Essex, Caroline and Hanover
  19. King George, Westmoreland, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Stafford and Prince William
  20. Fauquier and Culpeper
  21. Shenandoah and Rockingham
  22. Hampshire, Hardy, Berkeley and Morgan
  23. Frederick and Jefferson
  24. Loudoun and Fairfax

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Shade 1996, p. 57–61
  2. ^ Shade 1996, p. 62–64
  3. ^ Gutzman 2007, p. 163, 165
  4. ^ Gutzman 2007, p. 163, 165
  5. ^ Shade 1996, pp. 65–66
  6. ^ Shade 1996, pp. 65
  7. ^ Gutzman 2007, p. 188
  8. ^ Andrews 1937, p. 430
  9. ^ Heinemann 2007, p. 173–174
  10. ^ Shade 1996, p. 64
  11. ^ Heinemann 2007, p. 173
  12. ^ Richards, Samuel J. (Fall 2019). "Reclaiming Congressman Philip Doddridge from Tidewater Cultural Imperialism". West Virginia History: A Journal of Regional Studies. 13 (1): 4–5. doi:10.1353/wvh.2019.0019. S2CID 211648744.
  13. ^ Pulliam 1901, p. 67, 70–72

Bibliography

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