Virginia Declaration of Rights

The Virginia Declaration of Rights is a landmark of Virginia’s founding era, adopted in Williamsburg on June 12, 1776. Its ideas about popular government and individual liberties still appear in Virginia’s constitution. You can explore the document online through official state sources, or put it in context with a visit to Williamsburg and Virginia’s other Revolutionary-era sites.

What the declaration is

The declaration was adopted by Virginia’s Fifth Revolutionary Convention as a statement of the principles on which government should rest. George Mason drafted it, and the convention’s deliberations shaped the final text. It was a separate document from the new state constitution adopted later that month.

Ideas and lasting influence

The 16 articles address natural rights, popular sovereignty, the purpose of government, and protections involving criminal proceedings, searches, the press, and religious freedom. Its opening article describes people as equally free and independent, while another sets out the principle that political power derives from the people.

The declaration helped shape later rights documents. The National Archives notes its influence on Thomas Jefferson as he drafted the Declaration of Independence. The Library of Virginia also emphasizes that the 1776 text did not include every right later associated with American constitutional protections, making it useful to read the document in its historical context rather than as a complete modern bill of rights.

Read the text

Virginia’s current constitution begins its Bill of Rights with the declaration’s foundational statement and preserves the document’s articles in Article I. The Library of Virginia provides an educational overview and historical materials, while the state’s official law site offers the current constitutional text. Reading both helps distinguish the original 1776 declaration from its present-day constitutional form.

Visit the history in Williamsburg

The declaration was adopted in Williamsburg, then Virginia’s colonial capital. For an in-person history trip, explore Williamsburg, Virginia, including Colonial Williamsburg, and connect the document to the wider story of the American Revolution in Virginia. Williamsburg’s historic attractions and programs change, so check official site information before planning a visit.

Start with the document

Read Article I of Virginia’s constitution alongside the Library of Virginia’s historical overview to compare the declaration’s language and its present constitutional setting.

Explore the setting

Use Williamsburg as a base for learning about Virginia’s revolutionary-era politics and the colonial capital where the declaration was adopted.

Build a wider history trip

Pair Williamsburg with other places in the Historic Triangle, including sites associated with Jamestown and Yorktown. Confirm current hours, admission, and programs with each attraction before traveling.

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References

External links

• Virginia Constitution, Article I: Bill of Rights — Virginia Law
• The Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 12, 1776 — Library of Virginia
• Virginia Constitutions — Library of Virginia
• The Declaration of Independence — National Archives