Journal of the Convention of Virginia, Held in the City of Richmond, on the First Monday in June, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-Eight
| Journal of the Convention of Virginia | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
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| Published | Richmond: Printed by Augustine Davis | |
| Date | 1788 | |
This is a journal of Virgina's convention of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The Virginia ratifying convention was a heated contest between the Federalists, who supported ratification, and the anti-Federalists, who opposed. Unlike other states, Virginia was divided fairly evenly between support and opposition for the new constitution, so the convention was an arena for heated and contentious debate.[1]
The chief orator for the Federalists became James Madison, while Patrick Henry led the anti-Federalist camp. Henry and Madison had opposite strengths.[2] Henry was known to be a dazzling speaker that could powerfully appeal to emotion.[3] While Madison did not share Henry’s ability to captivate a room with hypnotic speech, he spoke with measured logic and was able to poke holes in Henry’s dramatized arguments.[4] He was able to “systematically [deflate] Henry’s position by exposing his faulty logic, inaccurate reading of history, and misconstruction of the language of the document.” [5] The Federalists eventually won the contest and the constitution was ratified, making Virginia the 10th state to do so.
The journal was compiled and published by Augustine Davis. Davis was a prominent printer in Virginia during the Revolutionary War and the Early Republic period.[6] The Yorktown native entered the publishing trade at the Virginia Gazette in Williamsburg, becoming co-owner in 1779. He eventually followed the state government's relocation to Richmond and in 1786 established the Virginia Independent Chronicle, which was later named the Virginia Gazette, and General Advertiser.[7] A supporter of a strong federal government, Davis reprinted essays from The Federalist and supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Davis became prosperous in the 1790s, a result of good investments and government printing contracts.[8]
Despite Virginia's growing population, Davis's printing volume remained unchanged, which led to complaints about the scarcity of documents in the western region of the state. The General Assembly removed him as public printer in 1798.[9] Eleven months after Thomas Jefferson became president, Davis lost his position as Richmond's postmaster. Although declining in political influence, he continued to publish his newspaper under various titles until 1821 before retiring comfortably.[10]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Dean's Memo[11] lists this title in a section of titles Wythe was known to have read.
See also
References
- ↑ “The Virginia Convention, 2–27 June 1788 [Editorial Note],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-11-02-0057. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, vol. 11, 7 March 1788–1 March 1789, ed. Robert A. Rutland and Charles F. Hobson. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1977, pp. 72–76.]
- ↑ “Virginia Ratifying Convention Journal, June 25, 1788,” Education @ Library of Virginia, accessed September 14, 2026, https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/online-classroom/stc/entries/virginia-ratifying-convention-journal-june-25-1788
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ The Virginia Convention, 2–27 June 1788 [Editorial Note],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-11-02-0057. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, vol. 11, 7 March 1788–1 March 1789, ed. Robert A. Rutland and Charles F. Hobson. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1977, pp. 72–76.]
- ↑ Augustine Davis (c. 1752 or 1753–1825) (Davis, Augustine (c. 1752 or 1753–1825)) [1]
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean, Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 15 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary). Dean lists the title in a section with the note, “There is evidence that Wythe had read several books not included in any of the above lists. It is possible that he borrowed one or all of these books from someone else, but it is also possible that they were in his library. At least we know that, he did indeed read them.”