Present at a Great American Moment: From the Floor of the Virginia Convention Ratifying the U.S. Constitution, the 10th State to do So, Which Would Send to the Executive Mansion 4 of the First 5 Presidents, Including One of the Signatories Here

This is the only artifact of the ratification of the Constitution in any state that we can ever recall seeing reach the market

 

This document has been in the same collection for generations.

 

Reference for research, publication, and institutions: Raab M13.122

The Virginia Ratifying Convention was a convention of delegates from throughout Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention the previous year. The Convention included men from what is now West Virginia, and contained a wide range of views. It met and deliberated from June 2 through June 27 in Richmond. The Virginia Ratifying Convention was open to the public and crowds filled the galleries along with the press. Delegates changed sides over the debates, demonstrators paraded in the streets, and the press churned out accounts of the proceedings along with commentary pamphlets. Although a majority of Virginians were said to be against adoption of the Constitution, and the Anti-federalists had the oratorical advantage with men like Patrick Henry and George Mason, the Federalists were better organized under the leadership of judges who had been trained by George Wythe, and most importantly, former Continental Army officers and others were influenced by the strong advocacy of the Constitution by George Washington. The convention recommended the addition of a bill of rights, but did not make ratification contingent upon it. Not all members of the Virginia Assembly were delegates, and though present did not vote.

All eyes were on the Virginia Ratification Convention, as with its many eminent men, it would clearly play a key role in an federal government. It made a final vote on George Wythe’s motion to ratify, passing it 89 to 79. Virginia was the tenth state to ratify the new Constitution. New York followed a month later on July 26, 1788. The new government began operating with eleven states on March 4, 1789.

Virginia participation was no casual event. The state was an important one in the process of crafting a constitution and in running the new country. Four of the first five presidents hailed from Virginia, including Monroe. And the first giant Chief Justice, John Marshall, was also a Virginian. Of the first seven Secretaries of State, five were from Virginia. And Virginians, from James Madison to George Mason, from those in favor and those not, played a crucial role in the creation of the document itself.

Someone present with access to the Convention delegates and Assembly members obtained the autographs of 37 of them on two sheets on or near the convention floor. They are the only group of delegate signatures from the floor of a U.S. Constitution ratification convention we have ever seen. Many of the men had notable careers in the Revolutionary War, Continental Congress, or the soon-to-be-established United States government.

The recto is dated Richmond, 18th June 1788. The names on that sheet, in order of signing, are:

Col. Willis Riddick of Nansemond, who voted yes. He had been taken prisoner at the Battle of Germantown.
Solomon Shepherd also of Nansemond, who voted yes
Isaac Vanmeter of Hardy, who voted yes
William Heath of Hardy, a member of the Assembly. No vote recorded
Thomas Carter of Russell, who voted no
Henry Lee of Westmoreland, who voted yes. This is the famed Light-Horse Harry Lee, Revolutionary War cavalry officer, later governor of Virginia, and father of Robert E. Lee.
Thomas Walke of Princess Anne, who voted yes
Maj. William O. Callis, who voted yes. He was Thomas Jefferson’s brother-in-law, a childhood friend of Presidents Madison and Monroe, and was with Washington at Yorktown.
Samuel Edmison of Washington, who voted no
Robert Morris, not a delegate
John Walker, who would become a U.S. senator in 1790. Not a delegate, he did not vote.
John Guerrant of Goochland, who voted no
Joel Early of Culpeper, a Revolutionary War officer, who voted no
Lt. Col. Daniel Fisher of Greensville, who voted yes
Lt. Richard Kennon of Mecklenburg, who voted no. He was appointed by President Jefferson the first Louisiana District commandant.
James Monroe, 5th President of the United States. He voted no, surprisingly.
Alexander White of Frederick, who voted yes. President Washington appointed him one of the commissioners responsible for the planning and construction of Washington, D.C.
Thomas Mathews of North Borough, who voted yes. In 1790 he would become Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.

The verso is dated 19th June 1788 through the 25th, with the date next to the corresponding name (s). The names on that sheet are:
James Webb of Norfolk, who voted yes
Green Clay of Madison, who voted no. He was from what is now Kentucky and was a general in the War of 1812.
Col. Theodorick Bland of Prince George, who voted no. He was later elected to the first U.S. Congress.
Gen. Robert Breckenridge, who votes yes. He was later Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Binns Jones of Brunswick, who voted no
Maj. John Trigg of Bedford, who voted no. He was with Washington at Yorktown.
James Wilkinson, not an official delegate, but with a group of Kentuckians in Virginia for the vote. Later he was the first governor of Louisiana Territory, and was noted for being associated with several scandals and controversies
James Gordon of Lancaster, who voted yes
Roger West, a member of the Assembly. No vote recorded.
John Howell Briggs of Sussex, who voted no
Benjamin Harrison of Charles City, who voted yes. He was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and then governor of Virginia
Col. William Lowther of Harrison, now West Virginia. He was in the Assembly but no vote is recorded for him. During the Revolutionary War he had charge of the line of scouts along the Ohio River, protecting the settlements in the Kanawha Valley from Indian encroachment”
Hezekiah Davisson of Harrison, now West Virginia. He was in the Assembly but no vote is recorded for him.
Jonathan Parsons of Harrison, now West Virginia. No vote is recorded for him.
James Upshaw of Essex, who voted no
Thomas Laidlaw of Monongalia, now West Virginia. No vote is recorded for him. He went to that country with Albert Gallatin, later Secretary of the Treasury.
Charles Martin. He was in the Assembly but no vote is recorded for him

So 13 voted yes, 12 no, 12 did not vote, which pretty much reflects the split in the state at the time.

The survival of this artifact of the ratification of the Constitution was unknown until we acquired it, and is nothing less than remarkable. Seeming at a glance just a group of signatures, research has brought to light and to life this memento of the time when the U.S. Constitution became the law of the land.

This document has been in the same collection for generations.