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A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS made by the representatives
of the good people of Virginia, assembled in full and free Convention;
which rights do pertain to them, and their posterity, as the basis and
foundation of government.
1. That all men
are by nature equally free
and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they
enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or
divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with
the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and
obtaining
happiness and safety.
2. That all power
is vested in, and consequently
derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and
servants,
and at all times amenable to them.
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 whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary
to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable,
unalienable,
and indefeasible right, to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner
as shall be judged most conducive to the publick weal.
4. That no man, or
set of men, are entitled
to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community,
but
in consideration of publick services; which, not being descendible,
neither
ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge, to be hereditary.
5. That the
legislative and executive powers
of the state should be separate and distinct from the judicative; and
that
the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by
feeling
and participating the burthens of the people, they should, at fixed
periods,
be reduced to a private station, return into that body from which they
were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent,
certain,
and regular elections, in which all, or any part of the former members,
to be again eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall direct.
6. That elections
of members to serve as
representatives of the people, in assembly, ought to be free; and that
all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with,
and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage, and
cannot
be taxed or deprived of their property for publick uses without their
own
consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any
law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the publick
good.
7. That all power
of suspending laws, or
the execution of laws, by any authority without consent of the
representatives
of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be
exercised.
8. That in all
capital or criminal prosecutions
a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to
be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in
his favour, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage,
without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty, nor can he
be
compelled to give evidence against himself; that no man be deprived of
his liberty except by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers.
9. That excessive
bail ought not to be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments
inflicted.
10. That general
warrants, whereby any
officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places
without
evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not
named,
or whose offence is not particularly described and supported by
evidence,
are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted.
11. That in
controversies respecting property,
and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial by jury is
preferable
to any other, and ought to be held sacred.
12. That the
freedom of the press is one
of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by
despotick
governments.
13. That a well
regulated militia, composed
of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and
safe defence of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace,
should
be avoided, as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the
military
should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil
power.
14. That the
people have a right to uniform
government; and therefore, that no government separate from, or
independent
of, the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established
within
the limits thereof.
15. That no free
government, or the blessing
of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to
justice,
moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent
recurrence
to fundamental principles.
16. That religion,
or the duty which we
owe to our CREATOR, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed
only
by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all
men
are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the
dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to
practice
Christian forbearance, love, and charity, towards each other.
This Declaration of Rights was framed by
a Convention, composed of forty-five members of the colonial house of
burgesses,
which met at Williamsburgh May 6, 1776, and adopted this Declaration
June
12, 1776.
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