Declarations to Secede from the United States, 1860-1861
Editor’s Note: From carefully wrought, grievance-filled declarations of causes, to concise cut-and-dried ordinances to secede, to (in the case of Tennessee) a full-fledged declaration of independence, in 1861 and 1862 the 13 Southern states issued a variety of official pronouncements to declare that they were making a formal and final break from the United States and […]
Buckingham County, VA, Declaration of Independence (June 14, 1776)
Editor’s Note: This declaration of independence was one of scores that was issued by states and localities in the months following the publication of Thomas Paine’s influential and rabble-rousing Common Sense. These declarations in turn informed our July 4, 1776 document. This statement, or declaration, was published in the Virginia Gazette on June 14, 1776, and was likely issued […]
Preamble to Virginia Constitution – a Declaration of Grievances (June 29, 1776)
Editor’s Note: Ever wonder where Jefferson came up with the grievances enumerated in his first draft of the Declaration? You need look no further than the Preamble he composed for the Virginia Constitution. While Jefferson was not present at the proceedings of Virginia’s constitutional constitution, such was his passion for constitution making that he sent the convention delegates a constitution […]
Virginia Declaration of Rights (June 12, 1776)
Editor’s Note: Take a careful gander at the Virginia Declaration of Rights, crafted by American patriot George Mason and adapted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776, and you’ll see readily how deeply it influenced Jefferson’s opening paragraphs in his draft of the Declaration of Independence, not to mention our Constitution’s Bill of […]
