The Virginia Declaration of Rights - 1776 (a must-know for historical purposes)

Constitution Dot Org ^ | 1776 | James Mason

[Loud Mime]

SEC. 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community; of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety and is most effectually secured against the danger of maladministration; and that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal.

[Scotsman will be Free]

Good read.

[tet68]

that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating the burdens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that body from which they were originally taken...

Term limits were not unconsidered by the founders.

[Sacajaweau]

The original states were all told to write their state constitutions PRIOR TO the Federal Constitution. You will see the similarities in all of them. (Try the Avalon site)

The Federal Constitution would assure people in the future states of general rights.

[oh8eleven]

Notice how this document bears similarities to our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.
That's not by chance. Thomas Jefferson used the Virginia document as a model for the Declaration of Independence.

[EternalVigilance]

Great post. Great reminder.

[Loud Mime]

Ping to those interesting in our history

[Loud Mime]

I did not know that as a fact, but it makes good sense when you consider the character of the Articles of Confederation.

Thank You.

[Loud Mime]

I found the lack of credit for Mason’s writings most interesting. He was a delegate at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, yet opposed ratification because it did not have a bill of rights. He lost some important friendships because of that.

Madison opposed a bill of rights, yet ended up writing it. The end result carried many of the thoughts penned by Mason; his efforts were not recognized. Madison got it all.

[Sacajaweau]

Google.......Avalon Project, Constitution

It's a Yale site. I think you'll really enjoy it.

[Huck]

That highlighted portion is of interest to me. Patrick Henry complained at the ratification debate that this maxim was violated in the Constitution. Under the Constitution, we have an amendment process whereby we are supposed to reform or alter our government. But whereas the Virginia declaration of Rights declares the right of “the majority” to do so, the Constitution places far stricter requirements—2/3rds of both houses, 3/4ths of the state legislatures. He argued that in effect, a tiny majority was able to prevent changes or reforms to the system, and this, he believed, was an error.

[Oratam]

SEC. 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community; of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety . . . .

The collectivist would read into that a government mandated health care system. Sad, no tragic, but true.

[Loud Mime]

I’ve been there many times. Usually its a coin flip between Avalon and Constitution.org for the information. I do donate to C.org

[Huck]

That’s true. Madison was more the stenographer of the Bill of Rights than the author.

[Dacula]

I have an odd question. Why did George Mason refuse to sign the Virginia constitution?

http://www.constitution.org/bcp/virg_dor.htm

George Mason (1725-92), one of Virginia’s wealthiest planters, a neighbor and friend of Washington, is best remembered for his part in drafting the Virginia constitution of 1776. In 1787 he was a leader in the Federal Convention. Refusing to sign the completed document, Mason, along with Patrick Henry and others, opposed its ratification in the Virginia Convention of 1788.]

[Loud Mime]

That’s where Patrick Henry fell on his face. Majority rule always results in tyranny. Now we call it “mainstream thinking,” a phrase that the democrats use religously.

[Huck]

That's true, and a fair criticism of the flowery bloated language that infects a lot of the founding documents. We'd have all been better off with a declaration something like this Patrick Henry quote:

"That government is no more than a choice among evils, is acknowledged by the most intelligent among mankind, and has been a standing maxim for ages. "

Imagine how different the average person's thinking on government would be if this had been included in the Preamble to the Constitution, instead of all that nonsense about general welfare and domestic tranquility.

[Huck]

That’s where Patrick Henry fell on his face. Majority rule always results in tyranny. Now we call it “mainstream thinking,” a phrase that the democrats use religously.

Then you disagree with the passage you highlighted from the VA declaration of rights? You DON'T believe a majority has a right to alter, reform or abolish their government?

[Huck]

You misread the sentence. He refused to sign the US Constitution. Why? Because it deserved to be rejected.