Talk:Virginia Declaration of Rights

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[edit] Bill of Rights 1689

This article is in contradiction with Bill of Rights 1689 page -- It states here that Virginia Declaration of Rights was the first declaring the "protection of individual rights, in contrast to mutable laws or previous compacts granting limited or restricted protections, such as to members of Parliament" -- which is contradicted by the fact that the English Bill of Rights 1689 predominantly dealt with the ordinary citizens of the United Kingdom, not the members of Parliament. A phrase needs to be added -- either "the first to exclusively deal with individual rights" or the "first to deal with rights of citizens living in America" or just "one of the first". Alternatively, sources should be found which demonstrate that the English Bill of Rights 1689 page is incorrect.

Rnt20 11:35, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

I believe the difference is in the fact that the Virginia Declaration of Rights can't be altered, whereas the unwritten British Constitution can be changed by Parliamentary law. Thus not all Virginian laws were/are considered constitutional, but British laws are inherently constitutional. As the sentence is currently written I do agree that it is factually inaccurate. Once I'm done with exams I will see what I can find out specifically.

I would however suggest that this line be deleted as I'm unaware of any historian that would argue that the Virginian Declaration of Rights did apply to all people. Perhaps I'm incorrect, but I don't think I am. "Some people and historians believe that the declaration did not apply to all people, including women and slaves."

Knightw 13:51, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

A pertinent quote from the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution: "The gravest defficiency of the Virginia system, according to Jefferson, was that the legislature, having framed the constitution and declaration of rights without having provided that they be perpetual and unalterable, could change them by ordinary legislation. That was true in theory, although the constitution lasted over half a century and rarely did the legislature enact measures inconsistent with it. In practice it was regarded a Fundamental Law, especially the declaration of rights."

--Thesoffish (talk) 19:18, 18 December 2007 (UTC)