The Old State Capitol

SA-109

In 1780, Virginia's capital was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond to increase its accessibility and avert British attack by sea. On this corner, in commercial buildings confiscated from Loyalists, the General Assembly met until 1788. Here Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom, which decoupled religion and government, was adopted through the extraordinary efforts of Del. James Madison. This law, the model for many other states, laid the foundation for the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Here, too, Virginia relinquished its claim to the Northwest Territory and began its contentious debate over ratification of the federal Constitution.

Department of Historic Resources, 2014

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Harrell, Isaac Samuel. Loyalism in Virginia: Chapters in the Economic History of the Revolution. Durham: Duke University Press, 1926. 49, 98-99. Journal of the House of Delegates, 10 July 1780, 26 June 1783. Letter from Marvin C. Bowling Jr., Lawyers Title Insurance Company, to Russell H. Chambliss Jr., Council for America’s First Freedom, 19 July 1993. Letters of Joseph Jones to James Madison (20 Oct. 1788), George Lee Turberville to James Madison (24 Oct. 1788), John Dawson to James Madison (27 Oct. 1788); Founders Online. Palmer, William P. Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts from January 1, 1785, to July 2, 1789 Waldman, Steven. Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America. New York: Random House, 2008.