Virginia's Constitutional Monarchy: Myth Or Reality?

Virginia has had several constitutions throughout its history, dating back to 1776, which have been influenced by various social and political changes. The 1902 constitution, for example, was created to disenfranchise African Americans and solidify the social enforcement of Jim Crow. In contrast, the 1971 constitution was approved by voters, including African Americans, and included provisions such as reducing the voting age to 18 and guaranteeing the right to hunt, fish, and harvest game. While Virginia has had multiple constitutions, there is no indication that it has ever had a constitutional monarchy.

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The Virginia Constitution of 1902

The 1902 Constitution created a new legal enforcement of Jim Crow and further solidified its social enforcement. It also enacted some genuine reforms, including a commission to regulate railroads, provisions regarding workmen’s compensation, and a State Corporation Commission that addressed issues of industrialization and helped create a certain degree of economic stability within Virginia.

The delegates chose not to submit their new constitution to Virginia voters for ratification, concluding that the electorate would not willingly choose to disenfranchise itself. The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled in Taylor v. Commonwealth (1903) that the constitution had become law on July 10, 1902. Once implemented, the 1902 Constitution achieved its intended purpose of drastically reducing the number of eligible voters. Voting rates dropped correspondingly, with 88,000 fewer ballots cast in the 1905 gubernatorial election than in the 1901 election. Although as many as 15,000 African Americans managed to vote after 1902, they were significantly disempowered politically.

The 1902 Constitution remained in effect throughout most of the twentieth century until a new state constitutional commission sought to revise it, resulting in the significant legal advances of the Virginia Constitution of 1971. The proposed Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by the voters of Virginia and took effect on July 1, 1971. Since then, additional amendments have been passed by the General Assembly and approved by the voters to conform to provisions in the U.S. Constitution, rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court, and Congressional statute.

The disenfranchisement of African Americans

I could not find sufficient information to answer whether Virginia had a constitutional monarchy. However, I found information on the disenfranchisement of African Americans in Virginia.

However, in the 1890s, a large proportion of black men and thousands of white Republicans in eastern Virginia were effectively disenfranchised. Democrats regularly won overwhelming control of the General Assembly and most of the state’s congressional seats. During this time, the Populist Movement threatened to rupture Democratic Party unity in Virginia, and some Democrats employed underhanded tactics to steal elections from other Democrats.

In 1900, a majority of the Democrats in the General Assembly passed a law to hold a referendum on whether to summon a constitutional convention. The central objective of the supporters of the convention movement was to deprive African Americans of the right to vote, thereby eliminating the Democrats’ need to cheat to win. In February 1901, the Virginia General Assembly authorized a constitutional convention to draft election reforms, considering poll taxes and literacy tests as requirements for voting.

The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901–1902 produced the Virginia Constitution of 1902, which included provisions to disenfranchise African Americans, who in 1900 made up nearly 36% of the state's population. The convention did not honor its pledge to have the proposed constitution put to a popular vote, and the legislature adopted it without ratification by the electorate. This constitution created a new legal enforcement of Jim Crow and further solidified its social enforcement. It remained in effect until July 1, 1971, shaping Virginia politics in the twentieth century—a politics dominated by a conservative Democratic Party that fiercely resisted the New Deal, the civil rights movement, and federally mandated public school desegregation.

It was not until the abolition of the poll tax in the 1960s and the adoption of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 that black men and women registered and voted in significant numbers in Virginia. The proposed Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by the voters of Virginia (who by then included African American men and women) and took effect on July 1, 1971. Since then, additional amendments have been passed by the General Assembly and approved by the voters to conform to provisions in the U.S. Constitution.

The 1902 Constitution's legacy

The 1902 Constitution of Virginia was an important example of post-Reconstruction efforts to restore white supremacy in the American South by disenfranchising large numbers of African Americans and working-class whites. The constitution was adopted without ratification by the electorate and remained in effect until July 1, 1971, shaping Virginia's conservative politics in the 20th century.

Despite this, the 1902 convention did enact some genuine reforms, including a commission to regulate railroads, provisions regarding workmen's compensation, and a State Corporation Commission that addressed industrialization issues and helped create economic stability within Virginia.

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The Constitution of Virginia (1776)

The Constitution of Virginia, also known as the "Constitution or Form of Government", was adopted on June 29, 1776, by the Virginia Convention. It established the powers of a governor, Council of State, and General Assembly, independent of Great Britain. The constitution was drafted by a Convention of forty-five members of the colonial house of burgesses, which met in Williamsburg from May 6 through July 5, 1776.

The Virginia Convention of 1776 was a significant event in the history of the state and the United States as a whole. On May 15, the elected delegates instructed Virginia's representatives in the Continental Congress to introduce a resolution of independence. On June 12, they adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was the first of its kind in the new United States. This declaration might have been even more important than the state constitution itself, as it established the fundamental rights of the people of Virginia.

The Constitution of Virginia underwent several revisions over the years, including the 1830 constitution, which did not significantly alter the manner in which government and politics functioned in the state. The 1902 constitution, drafted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902, was an important example of post-Reconstruction efforts to restore white supremacy in the American South by disenfranchising African Americans and working-class whites. This constitution was in effect until July 1, 1971, when a new constitution was approved by the voters of Virginia, including African Americans who had gained suffrage through federal civil rights legislation. The latest constitution has been amended to include provisions such as the reduction of the voting age to eighteen, the removal of voting residency requirements, and the right to hunt, fish, and harvest game.

Virginia's secession from the Union

Virginia did not have a constitutional monarchy. However, it did have a history of constitutional conventions, including the Virginia Convention of 1861, also known as the Secession Convention, which debated and voted on the state's secession from the Union.

The Virginia Convention of 1861 was called in the state capital of Richmond to address the question of secession in the context of the American Civil War (1861-1865). The convention was convened on February 13, 1861, and included 152 delegates, most of whom were Unionists. The convention witnessed heated debates, with delegates denouncing one another and engaging in personal attacks.

On April 4, 1861, the convention voted on secession, with the secessionists losing by a significant margin of 90 to 45. Despite this defeat, the secessionists continued to prepare for the possibility of war. Former Virginia governor Henry A. Wise worked to secure the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry by military means, a move that was strongly opposed by Unionist delegate John Bell.

On April 12, forces under Pierre G. T. Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter, with the fort surrendering two days later. This event electrified the North and the Confederate States, and it began to shift sentiment in Virginia towards secession. The Unionist majority in the convention began to waver, and the delegates relocated to the State Capitol. Meanwhile, radical secessionists organized the People's Spontaneous Convention, threatening to take matters into their own hands and align Virginia with the Confederacy.

On April 17, 1861, Virginia's secession from the Union was formalized with the Virginia Ordinance of Secession. This ordinance repealed the ratification of the Constitution of the United States by Virginia and dissolved the union between Virginia and the other states. The people of Virginia declared their sovereignty and independence, asserting that the Federal Government had perverted the powers granted under the Constitution to the injury of the people of Virginia and the oppression of the Southern slaveholding states.

Following the secession, Virginia adopted new constitutions, particularly the 1902 Constitution, which was in effect until July 1, 1971. This constitution was an effort to restore white supremacy and disenfranchise African Americans, who made up a significant portion of the state's population. It also addressed issues of industrialization and economic stability within the state.

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