Virginia. Convention (1775-1776)

The five revolutionary conventions that provided Virginians with an alternative government between August 1, 1774, and July 5, 1776, grew out of an extralegal meeting of twenty-five members of the House of Burgesses at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg on May 30, 1774. The burgesses considered methods of protesting the closing of the port of Boston by British authorities as a punishment for the Tea Party held there in 1773. A boycott of British goods was agreed upon, and a call was issued for the full House to convene at Williamsburg on August 1, 1774, in open defiance of Lord Dunmore, the royal governor, who had prorogued the assembly. The dates of the conventions were: first, August 1-6, 1774; second, March 20-27, 1775; third, July 17-August 26, 1775; fourth, December 1, 1775-January 20, 1776; fifth, May 6-July 5, 1776. This fifth convention adjourned and was replaced the next day by the new state government organized under the Virginia Constitution of 1776.

From the description of General correspondence, minutes, and journals, 1774-1776. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122538382

The five revolutionary conventions that provided Virginians with an alternative government between August 1, 1774, and July 5, 1776, grew out of an extralegal meeting of twenty-five members of the House of Burgesses at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg on May 30, 1774. The burgesses considered methods of protesting for the Tea Party held there in 1773. A boycott of British goods was agreed upon, and a call was issued for the full House to convene at Williamsburg on August 1, 1774, in open defiance of Lord Dunmore, the royal governor, who has prorogued the assembly.

At the meeting of Virginia's first revolutionary convention, the advocates of change took the first step toward creating a government in opposition to royal authority in the colony. Subsequent conventions were held as protests against the royal government increased: the dates of the conventions were: first, August 1-6, 1774; second, March 20-27, 1775; third, July 17-August 26, 1775; fourth, December 1, 1775-January 20, 1776; fifth, May 6-July 5, 1776.

While the new government was firmly established in July 1775 when the Committee of Safety was formed to serve as the executive agency in defiance of the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, it was only when the fifth convention adjourned that the new state government replaced the convention under the Virginia Constitution of 1776.

From the description of Agency history. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145407670