Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830

Philip P. Barbour
Presiding officer

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.

The Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1830, by George Catlin

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.

The last "gathering of giants" 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.

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.

John Randolph Conservative John Marshall Reformer Abel P. Upshur Conservative Portrait of Thomas Jefferson Randolph.jpg Thomas J. Randolph for gradual emancipation

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."

Reformers' efforts to adopt direct popular election of the Governor were defeated in favor of continuing election by the General Assembly. Thomas Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's grandson, proposed gradual emancipation, a suggestion which never made it out of committee onto the Convention floor. 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.

Outcomes

File:View of Capitol, Richmond, Va. April,1865 - NARA - 529087.jpg

Capitol at Richmond VA, where Convention of 1829–30 met

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. The Constitution of 1830 was a "triumph of traditionalism."

Historical accounts of the convention often relay interpretations of Hugh B. Grigsby that emphasize it as the "last gathering of giants." 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.

Notable attendees

• Alexander Campbell
• Philip Doddridge
• James Madison
• John Marshall
• James Monroe
• John Randolph of Roanoke

The delegates to the Virginia Convention of 1829–1830 – elected in May and June, 1829 at the County Courts. (Ninety-six members, four from each Senatorial District

District	Name	County
Amelia, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Nottoway, Powhatan and Town of Petersburg
future U.S. Congressman	John Winston Jones	Chesterfield
future U.S. Senator	Benjamin W. Leigh	Chesterfield
Virginia Senator	Samuel Taylor	Chesterfield
Governor	William B. Giles	Amelia
Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Lunenburg, and Mecklenburg
militia Brigadier General	William Henry Brodnax	Dinwiddie
	George C. Groomgoole	Brunswick
past U.S. Congressman	Mark Alexander	Mecklenburg
future U.S. Congressman	William O. Goode	Mechlenburg
City of Williamsburg, Charles City, Elizabeth City, James City, City of Richmond, Henrico, New Kent, Warwick and York
U.S. Chief Justice	John Marshall	Richmond City
U.S. Senator, future President	John Tyler	Charles City
Justice, Virginia General Court	Philip N. Nicholas	Richmond City
Va Senator, Justice	John B. Clopton	New Kent
Shenandoah and Rockingham
Virginia Senator	Peachy Harrison	Rockingham
	Jacob Williamson	Rockingham
former Va Delegate	William Anderson	Shenandoah
	Samuel Coffman	Shenandoah
Augusta, Rockbridge, Pendleton
militia Major General, later Va justice	Briscoe G. Baldwin	Augusta
Virginia Senator	Chapman Johnson	Augusta
U.S. Congressman	William McCoy	Pendleton
future U.S. Congressman	Samuel M. Moore	Rockbridge
Monroe, Greenbriar, Bath, Botetourt, Alleghany, Pocahontas, Nicholas
future U.S. Congressman	Andrew Beirne	Monroe
former U.S. Congressman	William Smith	Greenbrier
Virginia Senator	Fleming B. Miller	Botetourt
Virginia Senator	John Baxter	Pocahontas
Sussex, Surry, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Prince George, Greensville
future U.S. Representative, Federal Judge	John Y. Mason	Southampton
U.S. Congressman	James Trezvant	Southampton
Virginia Delegate	Augustine Claiborne	Greensville
	John Urquhart	Southampton
Charlotte, Halifax, and Prince Edward
past U.S. Senator; U.S. Congressman	John Randolph	Charlotte
Virginia jurist	William Leigh	Halifax
Virginia Senator	Richard Logan	Halifax
Upper Appomattox Canal Co.	Richard N. Venable	Prince Edward
Spotsylvania, Louisa, Orange, and Madison
Former President	James Madison	Orange
presiding officer, U.S. Justice	Philip P. Barbour	Orange
Assembly Delegate; died without attending	David Watson	Louisa
Virginia Justice	Robert Stanard	Spotsylvania
Loudoun and Fairfax
Former President	James Monroe	Loudoun
U.S. Congressman	Charles F. Mercer	Loudoun
Virginia Senator	William H. Fitzhugh	Fairfax
	Richard H. Henderson	Loudoun
Frederick and Jefferson
	John R. Cocke	Frederick
Former U.S. Congressman	Alfred H. Powell	Frederick
resigned	Hierome L. Opie	Jefferson
Future U.S. Senator	James M. Mason	Jefferson
Assembly Delegate	Thomas Griggs, Jr.	Jefferson
Hampshire, Hardy, Berkeley and Morgan
Assembly Delegate	William Naylor	Hampshire
Virginia Senator	William Donaldson	Hampshire
militia Brigadier General, Virginia Senator	Elisha Boyd	Berkeley
U.S. Judge	Philip Pendleton	Berkeley
Washington, Lee, Scott, Russell and Tazewell
Assembly Delegate	John B. George	Tazewell
Assembly Delegate	Andrew McMilian	Lee
	Edward Campbell	Washington
Assembly Delegate	William Byars	Washington
King William, King and Queen, Essex, Caroline and Hanover
U.S. Congressman	John Roane	King William
U.S. Congressman	William P. Taylor	Caroline
Assembly Delegate	Richard Morris	Hanover
former U.S. Congressman	James M. Garnett	Essex
Wythe, Montgomery, Grayson and Giles
	Gordon Cloyd	Montgomery
Virginia Senator	Henley Chapman	Giles
	John P. Mathews	Wythe
Assembly Delegate	William Oglesby	Grayson
Kanawha, Mason, Cabell, Randolph, Harrison, Lewis, Wood and Logan
Virginia Senator	Edwin S. Duncan	Harrison
Assembly Delegate	John Laidley	Cabell
Assembly Delegate	Lewis Summers	Kanawha
Assembly Delegate	Adam See	Randolph
Ohio, Tyler, Brooke, Monongalia and Preston
U.S. Congressman	Philip Doddridge	Brooke
Virginia Senator	Charles S. Morgan	Monongalia
future Pres., Bethany College	Alexander Campbell	Brooke
	Eugenius M. Wilson	Monongalia
Fauquier and Culpeper
U.S. Congressman	John S. Barbour	Culpeper
Virginia Senator	John Scott	Fauquier
Assembly Delegate	John Macrae (1829 session)	Fauquier
Assembly Delegate	Thomas Marshall (1830 session)	Fauquier
Virginia Justice	John W. Green	Culpeper
Norfolk, Princess Anne, Nansemond and Borough of Norfolk
U.S. Senator; future Governor	Littleton W. Tazewell	Norfolk Borough
	Joseph Prentis	Nansemond
resigned	Robert B. Taylor	Norfolk Borough
Assembly Delegate	Hugh Blair Grigsby	Norfolk Borough
U.S. Congressman	George Loyall	Norfolk Borough
Campell, Buckingham and Bedford
Virginia Senator	William Campbell	Bedford
	Samuel Claytor	Campbell
resigned	Callowhill Mennis	Bedford
Virginia Senator	James Saunders	Campbell
Franklin, Patrick, Henry and Pittsylvania
Virginia Senator	George Townes	Cheserfield
Virginia Senator	Benjamin W. S. Cabell	Pittsylvania
Virginia Senator	Joseph Martin	Henry
future U.S. Congressman	Archibald Stuart	Patrick
Albemarle, Amherst, Nelson, Fluvanna and Goochland
former U.S. Senator, Governor	James Pleasants	Goochland
U.S. Congressman	William F. Gordon	Albemarle
Virginia jurist	Lucas P. Thompson	Amherst
Assembly Delegate	Thomas Massie, Jr.	Nelson
King George, Westmoreland, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Stafford and Prince William
Virginia Senator; died	William A. G. Dade	Prince William
former Virginia Senator	Ellyson Currie	Lancaster
former U.S. Congressman	John Taliaferro	King George
	Fleming Bates	Northumberland
Mattews, Middlesex, Accomack, Northampton and Gloucester
Assembly Delegate	Thomas R. Joynes	Accomack
former U.S. Congressman	Thomas M. Bayly	Accomack
Assembly Delegate; died	Calvin H. Read	Northampton
Virginia jurist, future Sec. Navy, Sec. State	Abel P. Upshur	Northampton

See also

• Virginia Conventions

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