constitutionally established in the Underwood Constitution of
1902. Section 149 stated that white and colored children were not
to be taught in the same schools. This idea had been in existence
in statute law since 1869-1870, and the Constitution of 1902 also
specifically stated that public funds were to be restricted, with a
few exceptions, to public school use.
Gradually, teacher training courses were offered and improved and
teacher scholarships were created in the attempt to organize a large
number of new schools with qualified teacher personnel. Eventually,
specialized courses were offered in the elementary and secondary
schools: vocational courses including agricultural and industrial
arts courses and household arts courses, Bible Study, Music,
Drawing, Art and commercial subjects such as bookkeeping, shorthand
and typing were introduced. These courses coupled with the original
fundamental courses provided a rich curriculum for the public
school children of Virginia. By 1920, health examinations, health
instructions and physical training were required of each student.
Early State Superintendents of Instruction faced tremendous problems
in their attempts to organize and develop a whole new school system.
The importance of education in Virginia by 1918 is ascertained by
the fact that the state legislature at that time passed an act
ordering the State Board of Education to appropriate a fund of not
more than $10,000 to be used for a scientific evaluation study of
the Virginia schools by a special Survey Commission. Both the Inglis
Survey of 1919 (named after Dr. Alexander Inglis, Director of the
survey) and the O'Shea Survey of 1927 (named after Dr. M. V. O'Shea,
Director of the survey) resulted in considerable improvements in
the organization and administration of the educational system and
in curricular offerings. Some of the recommendations included
the appointment of the State Board of Education by the Governor
with confirmation by the State Senate, the appointment of the
State Superintendent of Public Instruction by the State Board of
Education, the selection of a variety of basic textbooks by the
State Board of Education, an increase in vocational education
courses of study, a minimum nine month academic year, compulsory
school attendance, improvement in teacher certification standards,
the county unit plan (rather than the district plan) of school
organization and a substantial increase in the salaries of teachers.
When the depression occurred in the late 1920's and early 1930's,
Virginia was affected but to a lesser degree than most of the
other states. One of the first items drastically reduced in the
local and state budgets was school expenditures. Regardless of
its financial hardship, however, the educational system continued
to improve. A new Division of Instruction headed by a Director of
Instruction was created in the State Department of Education to
assume the responsibility of improving the instruction program in
the Virginia public schools. Later, a Supervisor of Elementary
Education and a Supervisor of Music was added to the State structure
and a Supervisor of Secondary Education, a Supervisor of Negro
Education and a Supervisor of Physical and Health Education were
selected. Course content has been revised and new subjects added
as needs warranted. Recent progress includes the development of
audio-visual aids, rehabilitation education courses for disabled
veterans, special education for the "exceptional" child and for the
mentally retarded child, distributive education and adult education
courses. Most of the public schools in the Commonwealth now have a
twelve-year basic plan with the seven-five system predominating:
seven years in grade school (elementary) and five years in high
school (secondary).
Some of the outstanding public educators in Virginia have been
James Blair, Reverend William H. Ruffner, R. R. Farr, Dr. F. V.
N. Painter, John L. Buchanan, John E. Massey, Joseph W. Southall,
Joseph D. Eggleston, Dr. R. C. Stearnes, Harris Hart, Sidney B.
Hall, Dabney S. Lancaster, G. Tyler Miller, Dowell J. Howard, Dr.
Davis Y. Paschall, Dr. Woodrow W. Wilkerson--State Superintendents
of Public Instruction--George Wythe, Edwin Alderman, Edward
Armstrong, Samuel C. Armstrong, George Denny, Thomas R. Dew, William
H. McGuffey, Benjamin S. Ewell, John Langston, John T. Lomax, Booker
T. Washington, William Morton, William Pendleton, Thomas R. Price,
Francis Henry Smith, William Waugh Smith, Charles E. Vauter, William
Wilson, Milton Humphreys, Ed Joynes, Lyon Tyler and J. L. Blair
Buck. Countless individual teachers, state and local administrators,
and parent-teacher organizations have also contributed ideas which
have influenced and improved the educational facilities throughout
the state.
Education has become one of the greatest problems in the
Commonwealth and a field of paramount interest to the citizens as
well as to state and local officials, the students, the parents,
and the professional educational staff directly involved. As the
enrollments have rapidly increased, the governors, state legislators
and local officials have increased their concern and support,
causing the educational facilities to improve and expand. Such
actions provide opportunities for the residents of Virginia to
obtain a well-rounded education.
SUMMARY
Literature reveals the everyday experiences of people as well
as their dreams and aspirations. Personal diaries, journals and
letters were frequently used during colonial days to describe ideas
and events. Poetry was scarce but many scholarly articles, often
historically inclined, were written. Political thinking soon became
a favorite topic for written expression and biographies and essays
became numerous. Edgar Allan Poe, a resident of Virginia from his
adoption at the age of three, is considered the most original author
for his creation of the modern short story and the detective story.
Virginians also have contributed several historical and romantic
novels. The distinguished history and picturesque setting of
Virginia has furnished innumerable topics of interest for written or
oral expression.
Art has flourished in Virginia from the handicraft of the early days
to the plastic sculpturing of the present. In the colonial period,
European artists often visited Virginia and used Virginia and her
residents as their subjects. Later, Virginia artists began to study
abroad and, upon their return home, engaged primarily in portrait
and panorama painting. Edward Valentine created unusual, as well as
fine, sculptures. Foreign artists as well as native artists have
often used Virginia personalities and scenes as sources for their
inspiration.
Although Virginia can claim only two separate types of original
architecture--the Colonial type influenced by England and altered to
fit the environment of Virginia and the Jeffersonian type originated
through the artistic efforts of Thomas Jefferson himself--Americans
and foreigners still visit and study these architectural types
in an effort to imitate or perpetuate such desirable styles. The
Commonwealth has a variety of standard forms of architecture.
Organs, harpsichords and violins were popular musical instruments
in colonial days in Virginia. Gradually, American folk music,
Negro spirituals, the founding of the "Etude" music magazine and
the invention of the five-stringed banjo tended to increase and
popularize music in Virginia. John Powell of Richmond is considered
Virginia's greatest single contributor to the musical composition
field.
From the Williamsburg Theater of 1716 to the Barter Theater of the
present, Virginians have shared the spotlight, the hardships and the
fame of plays, vaudeville, moving pictures, radio and television.
The annual production of "The Common Glory," an historical drama, at
Lake Matoaka Theater in Williamsburg attracts thousands of patrons.
Education, the "backbone" of cultural activities, is one of the
most challenging current problems facing Virginia. Personal
training in the home, apprenticeship training outside the home,
the church and church school education, private tutoring and
private and public institutions of education of the elementary,
secondary and higher education level--all are significant milestones
along the educational paths of Virginia. With the educational
facilities expanding on all levels to meet the rapidly increasing
enrollment, with teacher training becoming more specialized,
with the improvement in standard courses and the addition of new
courses of study and with larger legislative appropriations for
education, education in Virginia provides more students with better
opportunities for effective learning.
The changing pattern of everyday living can be recognized by
observation and analysis of the literature, art, architecture,
music, drama and education of a people. The inhabitants of the
Commonwealth, consequently, have woven a particular pattern of their
own from their contributions to these various phases of Cultural
Life.
7
Political Life
_Background of Present State Constitution_
The original Constitution for the State of Virginia was written
at a special convention held in Williamsburg from May 7, 1776 to
July 5, 1776. The Constitution itself was officially adopted on
June 29, 1776, making this date the birth date of the State. The
individual who was primarily responsible for most of the content
in the original Constitution was George Mason. The creation of the
first Constitution was unusual in two respects: at the time it was
written, the convention members decided upon specific powers which
the newly-formed government should not have before it determined
those powers which it should have; furthermore, the Constitution
was adopted officially by the convention members without the usual
procedure of submitting it to the voters for final ratification.
As years pass and conditions vary, it becomes necessary to make
changes in the framework of a government to meet such needs.
Consequently, on four specific occasions, the Constitution of
Virginia has been rewritten: namely, in 1829-1830, 1850, 1867 and
1901.
In 1816, the residents west of the Blue Ridge Mountains demanded
more representation in their state government and fewer suffrage
restrictions. After many years of discontent, these individuals
finally encouraged enough residents throughout the state to vote
for a constitutional convention to be held in Richmond in 1829.
At the convention, suffrage was extended slightly although all
non-real estate owners still could not vote. The term of the
Governor was extended to a three-year term with an increase in
his powers, and representation was reapportioned to benefit the
inhabitants living west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. However,
in the redistribution of seats in the House of Delegates, the
residents in the Trans-Allegheny section lost some seats. When the
proposed Constitution was submitted to the people of Virginia for
ratification, 26,055 voted for it and 15,166 voted against it. In
this vote, for the first time, the Valley people of the western part
of the state joined the residents of the east rather than their
Trans-Allegheny neighbors who had strongly opposed it. The new
Constitution was officially adopted in 1830.
After the national census of 1840 had been taken, it revealed an
unfair numerical representation of the white people west of the
Blue Ridge Mountains in comparison with the representation of the
number of white people living east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Such
unfair representation existed in both houses of the General Assembly
to the extent that some residents even suggested that the people
of the western part of Virginia create a separate state and call
it Appalachia. Special local meetings were held and a referendum
was finally suggested to determine the need of a constitutional
convention as an attempt to correct this unfair condition.
Finally, a state-wide vote in 1850 recommended such a convention
be held in Richmond in the same year. After numerous arguments
among the delegates had been voiced over a four months' period, a
compromise was eventually adopted. The national census of 1850 was
to be used as the official white population count and legislative
representation was to be based upon this count: the effect of the
compromise was to give the counties west of the Blue Ridge Mountains
a majority in the House of Delegates and the counties east of the
Blue Ridge Mountains a majority in the State Senate. Additional
reforms were adopted which resulted in this 1850 convention
sometimes being referred to as "the reform convention": suffrage was
extended considerably to white male citizens; oral balloting was to
be maintained; the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney
General, certain judges, county clerks and sheriffs were to be
elected directly by the qualified voters; the tenure of the Governor
was extended to a four-year term; and the General Assembly was to
meet once every two years instead of annually. A capitation or poll
tax was to be levied upon each voter and half of the revenue from
this tax was to be used for school purposes. The General Assembly
was given additional power to control slavery by the passage of
certain restrictions which were to be imposed upon slaveowners. This
third Constitution for Virginia was officially adopted in 1851 after
it had been ratified by the voters of the state.
After the War between the States had ended and the Reconstruction
Period had begun, Virginia became Military District Number One in
March 1867 with General John M. Schofield as its chief executive.
The United States Congress demanded that Virginia and the other
nine former seceded states rewrite their state constitutions. When
the delegates of the constitutional convention met on December
3, 1867, they consisted of 32 Conservative Party members, 25
Radical Republican Negroes, 14 native Virginia Radical Republicans
and 31 Carpetbaggers, Scalawags and aliens. The constitution
which resulted from this convention is known as the Underwood
Constitution because the chairman of the convention was Judge John
C. Underwood, a Radical Republican. Some of the provisions of this
constitution included the division of each county into townships,
the establishment of a county court with a single judge in each
county, the appointment of a Board of Supervisors in each county
to carry out the executive powers, the levying of a high tax rate
on landed property, the compulsory creation of a public school
system, the denial of suffrage to many former Confederate leaders
and a restriction of allowing only former non-supporters of the
Confederacy to hold office or act as a juror. In 1869, upon the
recommendation of President Ulysses S. Grant, the United States
Congress allowed Virginia voters to vote at a popular referendum on
the Underwood Constitution itself and then to vote separately on
the sections which denied suffrage rights and office-holding rights
to former Confederates. On July 6, 1869, the qualified voters of
Virginia ratified the Underwood Constitution and rejected the other
two sections.
In 1897, an attempt to hold a constitutional convention was defeated
but three years later, the people of the Commonwealth voted in
favor of a constitutional convention. This fifth constitutional
convention began in June 1901 and continued for approximately one
year. As a result of this convention (described in Chapter Four),
numerous changes were made which were considered so important by
the delegates at the convention that they decided to "proclaim"
this Constitution of 1902 as the fundamental law of Virginia rather
than to submit it to the voters for ratification. Consequently, on
May 29, 1902, the Constitution of 1902 was voted by the convention
delegates for adoption and this is the present Constitution of the
Commonwealth, with certain subsequent revisions.
Like the Constitution of the United States, the Virginia
Constitution is divided into major areas called articles and into
subdivisions called sections. There are seventeen articles and
two hundred and one sections. The following topics found in the
articles indicate the broad range of subjects included: the Bill of
Rights, Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office, Division
of Powers, Legislative Department, Executive Department, Judiciary
Department, Organization and Government of Counties, Organization
and Government of Cities and Towns, Education and Public
Instruction, Agriculture and Immigration, Public Welfare and Penal
Institutions, Corporations, Taxation and Finance, Miscellaneous
Provisions--Homestead and Other Exemptions, Future Changes in the
Constitution, Rules of Construction, and Voting Qualification of
Armed Forces.
_The Virginia Bill of Rights_
Article I is the Bill of Rights. Such rights are prefaced by an
introductory paragraph in the article which states that this
series of rights form the backbone of the governmental structure
in Virginia: "A declaration of rights made by the good people of
Virginia in the exercise of their sovereign powers, which rights
do pertain to them and to their posterity, as the basis and
foundation of government." The famous Declaration of Rights which
follows the introductory paragraph was written by George Mason and
introduced at the Williamsburg Convention by Archibald Cary. It was
unanimously adopted by the convention members on June 12, 1776, and
its principles were considered so significant that they were later
used as the basis for the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the
United States as well as for many other state bills of rights. The
importance attached to these provisions has resulted in the Virginia
Bill of Rights often being called the "Magna Charta of Virginia."
In seventeen different sections, the Virginia Bill of Rights
guarantees various underlying principles of government:
(1) "That all men are by nature equally free and independent and
have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a
state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest
their posterity, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with
the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing
and obtaining happiness and safety"--Thus, freedom and equality
of every individual is recognized, and one's rights of life,
of liberty, of owning property and of achieving happiness and
safety are guaranteed.
(2) "That all power is vested in, and consequently derived
from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and
servants, and at all times amenable to them"--Thus, a principle
of democracy is expressed that the right to rule comes from the
people themselves and that office-holders are representatives of
the people and are responsible to the people.
(3) "That the government is, or ought to be, instituted for the
common benefit, protection and security of the people, nation
or community; of all the various modes and forms of government,
that is best which is capable of producing the greatest degree
of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against
the danger of maladministration; and, whenever any government
shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a
majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable
and indefeasible right to reform, alter or abolish it, in
such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public
weal"--Thus, the objective of a government is to benefit,
protect and preserve security for the people. The best type of
government is that which results in the greatest happiness and
safety of all those whom it governs. Whenever a majority of
those being governed consider such government as not attaining
such an objective, they have a right to change it, reform it,
or, if deemed wise, to abolish it as long as it is done in a
legal manner considered for the good of all involved.
(4) "That no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive or
separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in
consideration of public services; which not being descendible,
neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator or judge to
be hereditary"--Thus, the amount of financial profit or gain
received by an office-holder in any community is to be based
solely upon his rendering public service to the community.
Consideration of birth, influence or wealth is to be ignored,
and office-holding itself cannot be automatically inherited or
handed down from father to son.
(5) "That the legislative, executive and judicial departments
of the State should be separate and distinct; and that the
members thereof may be restrained from oppression, by feeling
and participating the burthens of the people, they should, at
fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that
body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies
be supplied by regular elections, in which all or any part of
the former members shall be again eligible, or ineligible, as
the laws may direct"--Thus, the principle of the separation
of powers is set forth, that is, the legislative, executive
and judicial departments are organized as three separate,
independent departments. Officials should have specific terms of
office and should be elected for designated periods of time at
the end of which time they should return to their former private
status and be eligible for re-election if the law provides for
such an opportunity.
(6) "That all elections ought to be free; and that all men
having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with,
and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage,
and cannot be taxed, or deprived of, or damaged in, their
property for public uses, without their own consent, or that
of their representatives duly elected, or bound by any law to
which they have not, in like manner, assented for the public
good"--Thus, all elections should be free and open, and all
men who have become regular residents of a community should
be allowed to vote. Property cannot be taxed, disposed of
or damaged for public use without the consent of the people
involved or that of their representatives. Neither can the
people be forced to abide by any law unless it has been voted
upon by them or by their elected representatives.
(7) "That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of
laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives
of the people, is injurious to their rights and ought not to be
exercised"--Thus, no office-holder should have the authority to
suspend a law or to carry out a law, independent of the legal
representatives of the citizenry.
(8) "That in criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to demand
the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with
the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor,
and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage,
without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty. He
shall not be deprived of life or liberty, except by the law of
the land or the judgment of his peers; nor be compelled in any
criminal proceeding to give evidence against himself, nor be
put twice in jeopardy for the same offense...."--Thus, any man
accused of a crime is entitled to certain rights: to be informed
of the charges placed against him, to meet face to face with the
witnesses and accusers, to defend himself in a fair and speedy
trial with an impartial or unprejudiced jury. He cannot be
deprived of life or liberty except by legal judicial action; he
cannot be made to testify against himself; and he is ineligible
to be tried twice for the same crime.