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[[File:Edmund Pendleton 1872 crop.jpg|right|thumb|[[Edmund Pendleton]], the presiding officer of the Fifth Virginia Convention]]
The '''Fifth Virginia Convention''' was a meeting of the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] [[legislature]] of [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] held in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] from May 6 to July 5, 1776.  This Convention declared [[Virginia]] an independent [[sovereign state|state]] and produced its first [[constitution]] and the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]].

== Background and composition ==

The previous [[Fourth Virginia Convention]] had taken place in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], in December 1775. In [[Philadelphia]], the [[Second Continental Congress]] appointed [[George Washington]] commander of the [[Continental Army]] troops that then surrounded [[Boston]], and Virginia patriots defeated an advancing [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British]] force at the [[Battle of Great Bridge]] southeast of [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]].

The newly elected delegates to the Fifth Virginia Convention re-elected [[Edmund Pendleton]] as its president on his return from Philadelphia as presiding officer of the [[First Continental Congress]]. The membership could be thought of as belonging to one of three groups: radicals from western Virginia, who had agitated for independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] even before 1775; philosophers of the [[American Enlightenment]]; and wealthy planters, largely from the east.  A malapportionment of delegates granted disproportionate influence to this latter group.<ref name=Grigsby>[[#grigsby55|Grigsby 1855]], p.110, 67</ref>

== Meeting ==
{|align=right
|<gallery perrow=2>
File:WytheGeorge.jpg|{{center|[[George Wythe]], an influential [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]-era lawyer}}
File:George Mason portrait.jpg|{{center|[[George Mason]], author of the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights|Virginia Bill of Rights]]}}
File:Mather Brown - Thomas Jefferson - Google Art Project.jpg|{{center|[[Thomas Jefferson]] at the [[Second Continental Congress]] in Philadelphia}}
File:Patrick henry.JPG|{{center|[[Patrick Henry]], an early proponent of independence and the [[American Revolution]]}}
</gallery>
|}
The Convention convened from May 6 to July 5, 1776, at the colonial capitol in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]]. It elected [[Edmund Pendleton]] its presiding officer after his return as president of the [[First Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]]. 

There were three parties in the Fifth Convention. The first was mainly made up of wealthy planters, who sought to continue their hold on local government as it had grown up during colonial Virginia's history. These included [[Robert Carter Nicholas Sr.]], who opposed the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] from [[George III|King George III]]. It dominated the convention by a malapportionment that lent an advantage to the slaveholding east. This party likely ensured the continuation of slavery at a time when other states had already begun ending it with [[Gradual emancipation (United States)|gradual emancipation]].<ref name="Grigsby" /> It ensured the continued self-perpetuating gentry rule of county government with a franchise limited by property requirements underpinning the republican form of state government.<ref>[[#tartar|Tartar 2013]], p. 115</ref> The second party was made up of the intellectuals of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]-era lawyers, physicians, and aspiring young men. These included the older generation of [[George Mason]], [[George Wythe]], [[Edmund Pendleton]], and the younger [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]].<ref>[[#grigsby55|Grigsby 1855]], p.110, 6</ref> The third party was a minority of young men mainly from western Virginia in present-day [[West Virginia]]. This party was led by [[Patrick Henry]] and others who supported independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] prior to 1775.<ref>[[#grigsby55|Grigsby 1855]], p.110, 148</ref>

On May 15, the Convention declared that the government of Virginia as "formerly exercised" by [[George III|King George III]] in [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] was "totally dissolved" in light of the King's repeated injuries and his "abandoning the helm of government and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection".<ref>The Avalon Project at Yale Law School, "[http://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/academics/founders/VA-Constitution.pdf Constitution of Virginia; June 29, 1776]" viewed April 14, 2016.</ref> The Convention adopted a set of three resolutions:  one calling for a declaration of rights for Virginia, one calling for the establishment of a republican constitution, and a third calling for federal relations with whichever other colonies would have them and alliances with whichever foreign countries would have them. It also instructed its delegates to the Continental Congress in [[Philadelphia]] to declare independence.  Virginia's congressional delegation was the only one under unconditional positive instructions to declare independence; Virginia was already independent of Parliament as the "fourth realm" of [[British Empire]], but its convention did not want their state, in the words of [[Benjamin Franklin]], to "hang separately." 

According to [[James Madison]]'s correspondence for that day, [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] residents marked the occasion by taking down the Union Jack from over the colonial capitol and running up a continental union flag, keeping the [[Union Jack]] of the British Empire in the canton and adding the thirteen red and white stripes of the self-governing [[East India Company]].<ref>[[#andrews|Andrews 1937]], p. 327. The flag for the perpetual union of the United States would feature a circle constellation of thirteen stars fixed in the heavens of a blue canton along with thirteen red and white stripes.</ref>

== Outcomes ==
[[File:Colonial Williamsburg Capitol 2.jpg|thumb|The colonia [[Virginia State Capitol|Virginia Capitol]] in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], where the Fifth Virginia Convention met in 1776]]
On June 7, [[Richard Henry Lee]], one of Virginia's delegates to the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]], carried out the instructions to propose independence in the language the convention had commanded him to use: that "these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." The resolution was followed in Congress by the adoption of the American [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], which reflected its ideas.<ref name=Heinemann>[[#heinemann|Heinemann 2008]], p. 124, 126</ref>

The convention amended, and on June 12 adopted, [[George Mason]]'s [[Virginia Declaration of Rights|Declaration of Rights]], a precursor to the [[United States Bill of Rights]]. On June 29, the convention approved the first [[Constitution of Virginia]]. The convention selected [[Patrick Henry]] as the first [[Governor of Virginia|governor]] of the new [[Virginia|Commonwealth of Virginia]], and Henry was inaugurated as governor on June 29, 1776, allowing Virginia to establish a functioning republican constitution a few days before the [[Second Continental Congress]] declared their [[United States Declaration of Independence|independence]] on July 4, 1776.<ref name="Heinemann" />

== Notable attendees and chart of delegates ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
*[[John Banister (lawyer)|John Banister]]
*[[Archibald Cary]]
*[[Patrick Henry]]
*[[Thomas Jefferson]]
*[[Joseph Jones (Virginia)|Joseph Jones]]
*[[Richard "Squire" Lee]]
*[[James Madison]]
*[[George Mason]]
*[[Robert Carter Nicholas Sr.]]
*[[John Page (Virginia politician)|John Page]]
*[[Edmund Pendleton]]
*[[French Strother]]
*[[John Augustine Washington]]
*[[George Wythe]]
*[[Col.Martin Pickett]]
}}

The delegates to the Virginia Convention of 1776 – elected in 1776
(One hundred and thirty-two members, two from each county, and one each from the Boroughs of Jamestown, Williamsburg, Norfolk, and the College of William and Mary)<ref>[[#pulliam|Pulliam 1901, p. 18-19]]</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! County/City
! Name
!Comments
|-
| [[Accomac County, Virginia|Accomac]]
| Southey Simpson
|
|-
| [[Accomac County, Virginia|Accomac]]
| Isaac Smith
|
|-
| [[Albemarle County, Virginia|Albemarle]]
| [[Charles Lilburn Lewis|Charles Lewis]]
| 
|-
| [[Albemarle County, Virginia|Albemarle]]
| George Gilmer
| for [[Thomas Jefferson]]
|-
| [[Amelia County, Virginia|Amelia]]
| John Tabb
| 
|-
| [[Amelia County, Virginia|Amelia]]
| John Winn
| 
|-
| [[Amherst County, Virginia|Amherst]]
| [[William Cabell (American Revolution)|William Cabell]]
| 
|-
| [[Amherst County, Virginia|Amherst]]
| [[Gabriel Penn]]
| 
|-
| [[Augusta County, Virginia|Augusta]]
| [[Thomas Lewis, Jr.|Thomas Lewis]]
| 
|-
| [[Augusta County, Virginia|Augusta]]
| [[Samuel McDowell]]
| 
|-
| [[West Augusta County, Virginia|West Augusta]]
| [[John Harvie]]
| 
|-
| [[West Augusta County, Virginia|West Augusta]]
| [[Charles Simms (lawyer)|Charles Simms]]
| 
|-
| [[Bedford, Virginia|Bedford]]
| John Talbot
| 
|-
| [[Bedford, Virginia|Bedford]]
| [[Charles Lynch (judge)|Charles Lynch]]
| 
|-
| [[Berkeley County, West Virginia|Berkeley]]
| [[Robert Rutherford (congressman)|Robert Rutherford]] 
| 
|-
| [[Berkeley County, West Virginia|Berkeley]]
| William Drew
| 
|-
| [[Botetourt County, Virginia|Botetourt]]
| John Bowyer
| 
|-
| [[Botetourt County, Virginia|Botetourt]]
| [[Patrick Lockhart]] 
| 
|-
| [[Brunswick County, Virginia|Brunswick]]
| [[Frederick Maclin]]
| 
|-
| [[Brunswick County, Virginia|Brunswick]]
| [[Henry Tazewell]]
| 
|- 
| [[Buckingham County, Virginia|Buckingham]]
| [[Charles Patteson]]
| 
|- 
| [[Buckingham County, Virginia|Buckingham]]
| [[John Cabell]]
| 
|- 
| [[Caroline County, Virginia|Caroline]]
| Hon. [[Edmund Pendleton]]
| Presiding officer
|- 
| [[Caroline County, Virginia|Caroline]]
| [[James Taylor (of Caroline)|James Taylor]]
| 
|-
| [[Chesterfield County, Virginia|Chesterfield]]
| [[Archibald Cary]]
| 
|-
| [[Chesterfield County, Virginia|Chesterfield]]
| [[Benjamin Watkins]]
| 
|-
| [[Charles City County, Virginia|Charles City]]
| [[William Acrill]]
| 
|-
| [[Charles City County, Virginia|Charles City]]

| [[Samuel Harwood]]
| for [[Benjamin Harrison V|Benjamin Harrison]]
|-
| [[Chesterfield County, Virginia|Chesterfield]]
| Hon. [[Paul Carrington (judge)|Paul Carrington]]
| 
|-
| [[Chesterfield County, Virginia|Chesterfield]]
| Thomas Read
| 
|-
| [[Culpeper County, Virginia|Culpeper]]
| [[French Strother]] 
| 
|-
| [[Culpeper County, Virginia|Culpeper]]
| Henry Field
| 
|-
| [[Cumberland County, Virginia|Cumberland]]
| John Mayo
| 
|-
| [[Cumberland County, Virginia|Cumberland]]
| [[William Fleming (judge)|William Fleming]] 
| 
|-
| [[Dinwiddie County, Virginia|Dinwiddie]]
| [[John Banister (lawyer)|John Banister]]
| 
|-
| [[Dinwiddie County, Virginia|Dinwiddie]]
| [[Bolling Starke]]
| 
|-
| [[Dunmore County, Virginia|Dunmore]]
| [[Abraham Bird]]
| 
|-
| [[Dunmore County, Virginia|Dunmore]]
| [[John Tipton]] 
| 
|-
| [[Elizabeth City County, Virginia|Elizabeth City]]
| [[Wilson Miles Cary]]
| 
|-
| [[Elizabeth City County, Virginia|Elizabeth City]]
| Henry King 
| 
|-
| [[Essex County, Virginia|Essex]]
| [[Meriwether Smith]]
| 
|-
| [[Essex County, Virginia|Essex]]
| [[James Edmundson]]
| 
|-
| [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax]]
| [[John West, Jr.]]
| 
|-
| [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax]]
| [[George Mason]]
| Bill of Rights
|-
| [[Fauquier County, Virginia|Fauquier]]
| [[Martin Pickett]]
| 
|-
| [[Fauquier County, Virginia|Fauquier]]
| James Scott
| 
|-
| [[Frederick County, Virginia|Frederick]]
| [[James Wood (governor)|James Wood]] 
| 
|-
| [[Frederick County, Virginia|Frederick]]
| [[Isaac Zane]]
| 
|-
| [[Fincastle County, Virginia|Fincastle]]
| [[Arthur Campbell (Virginia soldier)|Arthur Campbell]]
| 
|-
| [[Fincastle County, Virginia|Fincastle]]
| [[William Russell (Virginia)|William Russell]]
| 
|-
| [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester]]
| [[Thomas Whiting]]
| 
|-
| [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester]]
| [[Burwell family of Virginia|Lewis Burwell]]
| 
|-
| [[Goochland County, Virginia|Goochland]] 
| [[John Woodson (burgess)|John Woodson]]
| 
|-
| [[Goochland County, Virginia|Goochland]]
| [[Thomas M. Randolph]]
| 
|-
| [[Halifax County, Virginia|Halifax]]
| [[Nathaniel Terry]]
| 
|-
| [[Halifax County, Virginia|Halifax]]
| [[Micajah Watkins]] 
| 
|-
| [[Hampshire County, West Virginia|Hampshire]]
| [[James Mercer (jurist)|James Mercer]]
| 
|-
| [[Hampshire County, West Virginia|Hampshire]]
| [[Abraham Hite]]
| 
|-
| [[Hanover County, Virginia|Hanover]]
| [[Patrick Henry]]
| 
|-
| [[Hanover County, Virginia|Hanover]]
| [[John Syme]] 
| 
|-
| [[Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico]]
| [[Nathaniel Watkinson]]
| 
|-
| [[Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico]]
| [[Richard Adams]]
| 
|-
| [[Isle of Wight County, Virginia|Isle of Wight]]
| [[John S. Wills]]
|
|-
| [[Isle of Wight County, Virginia|Isle of Wight]]
| [[Charles Fulgham]]
| 
|-
| [[James City County, Virginia|James City]]
| [[Robert C. Nicholas]]
| 
|-
| [[James City County, Virginia|James City]]
| [[William Norvell]]
| 
|-
| [[King and Queen County, Virginia|King and Queen]]
| George Brook
| 
|-
| [[King and Queen County, Virginia|King and Queen]]
| [[William Lyne]]
| 
|-
| [[King George County, Virginia|King George]]
| [[William Fitzhugh]]
| 
|-
| [[King George County, Virginia|King George]]
| [[Joseph Jones (Virginia)|Joseph Jones]]
| 
|-
| [[King William County, Virginia|King William]]
| William Aylett
| 
|-
| [[King William County, Virginia|King William]]
| [[Richard Squire Taylor]]
| 
|-
| [[Lancaster County, Virginia|Lancaster]]
| [[James Seldon]] 
| 
|-
| [[Lancaster County, Virginia|Lancaster]]
| James Gordon
| 
|-
| [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun]]
| [[Francis Peyton]]
| 
|-
| [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun]]
| [[Josiah Clapham]]
| 
|-
| [[Louisa County, Virginia|Louisa]]
| [[George Meriwether]]
| 
|-
| [[Louisa County, Virginia|Louisa]]
| Thomas Johnson
| 
|-
| [[Lunenburg County, Virginia|Lunenburg]]
| [[David S. Garland|David Garland]]
| 
|-
| [[Lunenburg County, Virginia|Lunenburg]]
| [[Lodowick Farmer]]
| 
|-
| [[Mecklenburg County, Virginia|Mecklenburg]]
| [[Joseph Speed]]
| 
|-
| [[Mecklenburg County, Virginia|Mecklenburg]]
| [[Bennett Goode]]
| 
|-
| [[Middlesex County, Virginia|Middlesex]]
| [[Edmund Berkeley]]
| 
|-
| [[Middlesex County, Virginia|Middlesex]]
| James Montague
| 
|-
| [[Nansemond County, Virginia|Nansemond]]
| [[Willis Riddick]]
| 
|-
| [[Nansemond County, Virginia|Nansemond]]
| [[William Cowper]]
| 
|-
| [[New Kent County, Virginia|New Kent]]
| William Clayton
| 
|-
| [[New Kent County, Virginia|New Kent]]
| [[Bartholomew Dandridge]]
| 
|-
| [[Norfolk County, Virginia|Norfolk]]
| James Holt
| 
|-
| [[Norfolk County, Virginia|Norfolk]]
| [[Thomas Newton]]
| 
|-
| [[Northampton County, Virginia|Northampton]]
| [[Nathaniel L. Savage]]
| 
|-
| [[Northampton County, Virginia|Northampton]]
| George Savage
| 
|-
| [[Northumberland County, Virginia|Northumberland]]
| [[Rodham Kenner]]
| 
|-
| [[Northumberland County, Virginia|Northumberland]]
| [[John Cralle]]
| 
|-
| [[Orange County, Virginia|Orange]]
| [[James Madison, Jr.]]
| 
|-
| [[Orange County, Virginia|Orange]]
| William Moore 
| 
|-
| [[Pittsylvania County, Virginia|Pittsylvania]]
| [[Benjamin Lankford]]
| 
|-
| [[Pittsylvania County, Virginia|Pittsylvania]]
| Robert Williams 
| 
|-
| [[Prince Edward County, Virginia|Prince Edward]]
| William Watts
| 
|-
| [[Prince Edward County, Virginia|Prince Edward]]
| [[William Booker (politician)|William Booker]]
| 
|-
| [[Prince George County, Virginia|Prince George]]
| [[Richard Bland]]
| 
|-
| [[Prince George County, Virginia|Prince George]]
| [[Peter Poythress]]
| 
|-
| [[Prince William County, Virginia|Prince William]]
| Henry Lee
| 
|-
| [[Prince William County, Virginia|Prince William]]
| [[Cuthbert Bullitt]]
| 
|-
| [[Princess Anne County, Virginia|Princess Anne]]
| William Robinson
| 
|-
| [[Princess Anne County, Virginia|Princess Anne]]
| [[John Thoroughgood]]
| 
|-
| [[Richmond County, Virginia|Richmond]]
| [[Hudson Muse]]
| 
|-
| [[Richmond County, Virginia|Richmond]]
| [[Charles McCarty]]
| 
|-
| [[Southampton County, Virginia|Southampton]]
| [[Edwin Gray]]
| 
|-
| [[Southampton County, Virginia|Southampton]]
| Henry Taylor
| 
|-
| [[Spotsylvania County, Virginia|Spotsylvania]]
| [[Mann Page]]
|
|-
| [[Spotsylvania County, Virginia|Spotsylvania]]
| George Thornton
| 
|-
| [[Stafford County, Virginia|Stafford]]
| [[Thomas Ludwell Lee]]
| 
|-
| [[Stafford County, Virginia|Stafford]]
| William Brent
| 
|-
| [[Surry County, Virginia|Surry]]
| [[Allen Cocke]]
| 
|-
| [[Surry County, Virginia|Surry]]
| [[Nicholas Faulcon]]
| 
|-
| [[Sussex County, Virginia|Sussex]]
| David Mason 
| 
|-
| [[Sussex County, Virginia|Sussex]]
| [[Henry Gee]]
| 
|-
| [[Warwick County, Virginia|Warwick]]
| William Harwood
| 
|-
| [[Warwick County, Virginia|Warwick]]
| [[Richard Carey (judge)]]
|
|-
| [[Westmoreland County, Virginia|Westmoreland]]
| [[Richard Henry Lee|Richard Lee]] 
| 
|-
| [[Westmoreland County, Virginia|Westmoreland]]
| [[John Augustine Washington]]
| for [[Richard Henry Lee]]
|-
| [[York County, Virginia|York]]
| [[Dudley Digges]]
| 
|-
| [[York County, Virginia|York]]
| [[Thomas Nelson, Jr.]]
| [[William Digges]]
|-
| [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]]
| [[Champion Travis]]
| 
|-
| [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]]
| [[Edmund Randolph]]
| for [[George Wythe]]
|-
| [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk Borough]]
| [[William Roscow Wilson Curle]]
| 
|-
| [[College of William and Mary]]
| [[John Blair Jr.|John Blair]]
| 
|}

==See also==
*[[Virginia Conventions]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |first=Matthew Page |last=Andrews|title=Virginia, the Old Dominion |publisher=Doubleday, Doran & Company |year=1937 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Virginia-Dominion-Matthew-Page-Andrews/dp/B0006E942K|asin= B0006E942K |ref=andrews}}
*{{cite book <!--|authorlink=Hugh Blair Grigsby--> |last=Grigsby |first=Hugh Blair |title=The Virginia Convention of 1776 |publisher= Da Capo Press, NY |year=1855 |isbn=978-1-4290-1760-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/adiscoursedeliv00griggoog |ref=grigsby55}}
*{{cite book |last=Heinemann |first=Ronald L. |title=Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: a history of Virginia, 1607-2007 |publisher= University of Virginia Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8139-2769-5|url=https://www.amazon.com/Old-Dominion-New-Commonwealth-1607-2007/dp/0813927692 |ref=heinemann}}
*{{cite book |last=Pulliam |first=David Loyd |title=The Constitutional Conventions of Virginia from the foundation of the Commonwealth to the present time |publisher= John T. West, Richmond |year=1901 |isbn= 978-1-2879-2059-5 |url= https://www.amazon.com/Constitutional-Conventions-Virginia-Foundation-Commonwealth/dp/1287920594/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481563611&sr=1-1&keywords=Constitutional+Conventions+Virginia+Foundation+Commonwealth+Present+Time |ref=pulliam}}
*{{cite book |last=Tartar |first=Brent |title=The Grandees of Government: the origins and persistence of undemocratic politics in Virginia |publisher= University of Virginia Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8139-3431-0 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Grandees-Government-Persistence-Undemocratic-Politics/dp/0813934311 |ref=tartar}}

==External links==
*{{cite book |title= The Virginia Conventions of the Revolution |last=Dunaway |first=W. F. |url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-1100650 |publisher=The Virginia Law Register |year=1904}}

{{Virginia during the American Revolutionary War}}
{{Thomas Jefferson}}
{{James Madison}}
{{George Mason}}
{{Patrick Henry}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1776 in Virginia]]
[[Category:American constitutional conventions|Virginia]]
[[Category:Virginia in the American Revolution]]