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Virginians Help Create a National Government for the United States
• Constitution – a plan of government.
• In 1787 leaders from each state met in Philadelphia to draw up a national constitution for the new country.
• The actions and ideas of Virginians formed the basis for the new constitutional government of the United States.
Virginians Help Create a National Government for the United States
• James Madison, a Virginian, believed in the importance of having a United States constitution.
• He kept detailed notes during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.
James Madison – “Father of the Constitution”
• His skills at compromise helped the delegates reach agreement during the difficult process of writing the Constitution of the United States of America.
• This earned him the title the “Father of the Constitution.”
George Washington – “Father of Our Country”
• George Washington was a Virginian.
• Commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
• He was President of the Constitutional Convention.
George Washington – “Father of Our Country”
• He was elected as the first President of the United States of America.
• He provided the strong leadership needed to help the young country.
• He also provided a model of leadership for future presidents.
• Therefore, he is often called the “Father of Our Country.”
The Virginia Declaration of Rights • The Virginia
Declaration of Rights was written by a Virginian named George Mason.
• It is a document that says that all Virginians should have certain rights.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Right - Freedom of Religion.
• Religion is the way people worship the God or gods they believe in.
• Mason believed the government should not be able to tell people what church to attend or make them go to church at all!
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Right - Freedom of the Press.
• Mason believed that newspapers should be able to print the truth and should not be controlled by the government.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Right - The right to a trial by jury.
• Mason felt that even people who broke the law should have rights. One of these rights is the right to a trial by jury.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
• The document became the basis for the Bill of Rights for the Constitution of the United States of America.
The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights
• The Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1791. Much of it was based on the Virginia Declaration of Rights written by George Mason.
• The Bill of Rights became the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
• Amendment – a change or an addition to a document.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written by a Virginian named Thomas Jefferson.
• It says that all people should be free to practice their religion as they please or not to practice any religion at all.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• This document was the basis for the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
• The amendment protects religious freedom.
• This is the first of the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution.