Thomas Jefferson in the Virginia Convention of 1776 was the successful patron and aggressive advocate of the resolution for the appointment of a Committee to revise certain laws in order that they might be in accordance with and conform to the changed status and conditions of the State, from a Colony of Great Britain to an independent sovereignty.

This Committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, George Mason of Gunston Hall, George Wythe, Edmund Pendleton and Thomas L. Lee, met in the Rising Sun Tavern in Fredericksburg on January 13, 1777, where they inaugurated and formulated bills of great and far reaching import, which were subsequently enacted into laws by the Legislature of Virginia and followed by the other thirteen States of the Confederation.

These four bills were then considered as forming a system by which every fibre of ancient or future aristocracy would be eradicated and a foundation laid for a government truly republican.

To only four of these we make reference—namely—

THE REPEAL OF THE OLD ENGLISH LAWS OF PRIMOGENITURE then the law of the State, by which the eldest son as a matter of law and right became by descent entitled to property rights and privileges above and beyond all other heirs:—

THE REPEAL OF ALL ENTAIL which would prevent the accumulation and perpetuation of wealth in select families and preserve the soil of the country for its people, thus promoting an equality of opportunity for the average citizen:—THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FOR ALL CHILDREN—OF COLLEGES TEACHING THE HIGHEST GRADE OF SCIENCE—From this has evolved the present public school system, and Jefferson being saturated with this idea commenced by the establishment of the University of Virginia. A great service performed by this Committee fostered and largely encouraged by Jefferson and Mason was its BILL FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM—which met with more active opposition than did the other three, for it did not become a law until 1785. By it the State received its charter of divorcement from the Church—religion and politics were separated. It provided “that henceforth no man could be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship place or ministry, but all men should be free to profess and by argument maintain their opinions in matters of religion and the same should in no wise diminish, enlarge or effect their civil capacity.”

No elaborate or extended thesis or dissertation on the too apparent merits, virtue, value and importance of these measures, in this brief sketch, is attempted. The purpose really being, with emphasis, to declare without successful contradiction or any possible doubt or dispute that in the Rising Sun Tavern at Fredericksburg on January 13, 1777, these all pervading, all important laws of the greatest import were formulated and inaugurated by the Committee referred to.

Footnotes:

[1] Figures, see official reports.

[2] See Goolrick’s “Life of Mercer.”