Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830

*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

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

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]

John Randolph
Conservative
John Marshall
Reformer
Abel P. Upshur
Conservative
Thomas J. Randolph
for gradual emancipation

Outcomes

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

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

Districts are numbered as follows for the table and map:

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

References

^ Shade 1996, p. 57–61
^ Shade 1996, p. 62–64
^ Gutzman 2007, p. 163, 165
^ Gutzman 2007, p. 163, 165
^ Shade 1996, pp. 65–66
^ Shade 1996, pp. 65
^ Gutzman 2007, p. 188
^ Andrews 1937, p. 430
^ Heinemann 2007, p. 173–174
^ Shade 1996, p. 64
^ Heinemann 2007, p. 173
^ 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.
^ Pulliam 1901, p. 67, 70–72

Bibliography

Andrews, Matthew Page (1937). Virginia, the Old Dominion. Doubleday, Doran & Company. ASIN B0006E942K.
Gutzman, Kevin R.C. (2007). Virginia's American Revolution: from Dominion to Republic, 1776-1840. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-2131-3.
Heinemann, Ronald L. (2008). Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: a history of Virginia, 1607-2007. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-2769-5.
Pulliam, David Loyd (1901). The Constitutional Conventions of Virginia from the foundation of the Commonwealth to the present time. John T. West, Richmond. ISBN 978-1-2879-2059-5.
Richards, Samuel J. (Fall 2019). "Reclaiming Congressman Philip Doddridge from Tidewater Cultural Imperialism". West Virginia History: A Journal of Regional Studies. 13 (2): 1–26. doi:10.1353/wvh.2019.0019. S2CID 211648744.
Shade, William G. (1996). Democratizing the Old Dominion: Virginia and the Second Party System, 1824–1861. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-1654-5.

External links

Proceedings and Debates of the Virginia State Convention of 1829–30. Samuel Shepherd & Co. for Ritchie & Cook 1830 Richmond online from the archives of the University of Virginia at archive.org