Starting in jamestown in 1619. Thenly moving to what was middle plantation. Renamed for the king, king william. By 1704 the Capital Building had been built on this spot. It finally burned down in 1747. That foundingspot learned to be representative of the people. While this is a story of virginia and its history. It is a history of the entire united states. A part of our common heritage of citizens. This was the very first government building ever to be theyred to as a capital lost four statehouses to fire. It was the lower house of the assembly. Just like the house of commons in london this is where all money bills had to originate. During the 18th century there would be to burgesses for every county, one burgess for the college of william and mary, and one for jamestown and williamsburg. This became the centerpiece, the birthplace of the american protest against the stamp act. Before we get into that, let me quickly point out a few things. Not only did you have members of the house sitting here, but the speaker of the house sat in this large ceremonial chair. This chair is the original speakers chair. As a reminder of that, we know the bottom of this chair is slightly charred from when they moved it out during the fire. There was a second Capital Building built on the spot by the 1750s and that building would stay here in use until 1779 when richmond became the capital. However it would is in sessions would here that they adopt sundry ideas into law. That process works the same way it does in any State Capitol today. A bill would be introduced. It would be red once and then it would go up to committee. After the committee worked on it came down here in the Committee Version was read. Finally there would be a debate, read a third time, and then they would be voting. It was not just that giving other things would happen. On this spot Patrick Henry introduces his resolutions against the stamp act. Encapsulated in that resolution, not in so many words but there was a clear thought that there could be no taxation without representation. Parliament an attempt to pay for the french and indian war and the increased administrative costs of the new Empire Wanted the american subjects in this colony to pay what they considered to be a fair share of the cost of the war. And administering the huge empire that has been added on. But the americans felt they could not be taxed by a legislature they had no representation in. Mr. Henry introduced his resolutions. Of those resolutions they were , introduced when the body met as a whole. But when they met again as the house, only five of his resolutions got past passed. However, the colonial newspapers up and down the east coast were of the mind that all seven had passed and gave them a far greater rivers record reputation of radicalization than they had. He was perhaps the favorite monarch of colonial americans. Here we have king george the second. He was perhaps the favorite monarch of colonial americans because he left the americans alone. His long time on the throne would end up being benign neglect. Opposite is his wife, Queen Caroline who Caroline County was named for. She was popular because she never bothered virginia. It was not only the stamp act that caused problems here but later legislation would also. As a matter of fact during the towns and duty debates towns end duty debates and during the , debates about the boston pork bill, which happened as an answer to the boston tea party, that would lead to this assembly being dismissed by the royal governor. Real governors had that power at this time. It was determined they had to close the port of boston. They adopted something that seems mild to us, a day of resolution, fasting and prayer. The governor said only the king, the head of the church of england or his representative in the colony could do such a thing. He dismissed the house, which played into the hands of the virginians. Shortly thereafter they pointed out that the house had not passed the fee schedule to allow the courts to meet, or allow the militia to meet. The governor himself deciding he personally had to go out to fight the shawnee, they started meeting as conventions of the people of virginia. The first one would go ahead and send George Washington and Edmund Pendleton and patrick hindery the First Continental Congress where the speaker would be elected as the first president of the continental congress. They would meet as conventions of the people of virginia. The second met in richmond but it would be the fifth Virginia Convention meeting on this spot on may 15, 1776, they would adopt the virginia resolution for independence. That resolution stated the people of virginia were separate and independent of the crown and parliament of great britain. Having dissolved the ties to the old government, they went on to say there must be a new constitution, the first written american constitution written after independence and that if the purpose of government was to ensure rights and liberties they determined they would have to come up with a declaration of rights. That would be the First American bill of rights. That was worked on mainly in committee. I would like to take you upstairs and show you the Committee Rooms where they would work on the virginia declaration of rights. Here we are in one of three Committee Rooms. There were Standing Committees of the house. Where just like today most work goes on in committee. The committee of religion, the committee on trade, proposition and grievances, public claims. And there was also elections and privileges. That committee is one of the most interesting ones because it was in elections and privileges that all the disputed elections would be adjudicated by the house. For anyone who thinks disputed elections are something new to america, they need to check out the records of that particular committee. There were as many disputed elections back then as we have today. But very few elections now end up with fists being thrown. But a Different Committee was the committee i mentioned before, that was used to determine the virginia declaration of rights. A declaration of rights is nothing new. To give you an idea we have a portrait of king william, william the third. Also known as william of orange. He came to the throne during the glorious revolution of 1688. In 1689 it was his opinion that the people of england should be reassured that their rights and privileges will continue and they came up with the english bill of rights of 1689. That served as an example for the virginia declaration of rights of 1776. Both of these were broken into various articles. What is interesting is the english bill of rights contains an article expressly forbidding cruel and unusual punishment. That article appeared almost word for word in the virginia declaration of rights and in the american bill of rights. It passed by the federal government in 1789, 100 years after the english bill of rights was passed. The past is prologue and there is always precedents to be found. Not everything on the virginia declaration of rights was taken from the english bill of rights. For instance, we will step across and see where the upper house met. The upper house with the council of virginia. The council of virginia served a legislative function, being the upper house of the General Assembly but it was the body of , judges of the General Court, thus fulfilling a judicial function. They were an executive Advisory Committee to the governor, the serving the function like a captain might do today, having an executive function. That body was representative of all three branches. This committee that met here determined there should be a change, a separation of powers, a new novel virginia idea that was decided and adopted right here on this spot in june of 1776. Where we are physically is in the middle bar of the letter h that is shaped by this building. We were on the east side of this building, where the lower house met on the lower floor. This room serves as a bridge in between what could be the peoples side and the kings side. The purpose of this space before the revolution is it was the joint Conference Room where on occasion both houses would appoint members to sit here and hammer out differences between resolutions or acts. Before they could be passed by both houses and signed by the governor. Lets walk through the king side of the building and i will show you where the council met in the 18th century. Follow me please. We are here in the chamber of the council the colony of virginia. This is where there were meetings for various sorts of business. One of the things that happened repeatedly here, independent nations of indians, such as cherokee would come here on diplomatic missions. Hopefully when they came here they were here to present devices like this, a piece built belt determined to show there be a bright and shining chain of friendship between the virginians in the cherokee. Belts like there were kept in this chamber to show there be peace between the cherokee and virginians. It didnt always happen that way but at least at one point there was a hope for peace. However they would also meet , here to discuss other items as well. The 12 counselors were the creme de la creme of local society. They held royal appointments signed by the king himself and they served for life or good behavior. The governor would sit here and the chair much like this, other Council Members would sit either side, and here is where they would pass legislation as the upper house of the assembly. We know during the stamp act crisis members agreed with the lower house. After that every royal governor had standing instructions that any member of the council ever saw fit to go against parliament or the kings instructions, the governor could summarily dismissed them from the council and the governors action will be backed up by the crown. Then he could replace someone who was more compliant. So as virginia moved closer to the resolution, they grew more and more quiet. Just hoping this storm of controversy would pass over them quietly. It didnt happen that way. We also have other things that remind us here. We have portraits of your oi kings. Iriq that is what they thought they were. They were sent to london itself to show the royal government in london of the people concerns of the people. Other things that would occur here would be reactions to the lower house deciding to oppose the stamp act. We know the best of library that belonged to the government was in this building. As a matter of fact down below i mentioned the day of fasting, humiliation and prayer. We know that thomas jefferson, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry lee and others came up into this chamber and borrowed a history book about the british civil wars. One done by a gentleman by the name of rushmore. They found one time when parliament declared a day of fasting, resolution and prayer. That would lead to the governor dissolving the house. I therefore dissolve the house of burgesses accordingly. God save the king. That would be the last complete session of the house before the American Revolution. In 1774 no one knew that yet. What became the American Revolution was at that point still a tax protest. We will go downstairs and see where these men met as the high court justices. In the General Court of the colony of virginia. We are now in the General Courtroom. This is where in the 18th century free subjects of his majesty would be tried for various felony crimes. But also the General Court would take care of other issues as well. Will probate of the greatest states would occur here. In addition, this is where virginians came to sue and be sued. Somehow it is those criminal cases that really grabbed our attention. We know for instance one woman who was sent here to virginia as a convict servant. She was tried for theft in england. She was sentenced to die but given the alternative of coming here to virginia and serving as a convict servant for 14 years. During her time here she for some reason ended up murdering her mistress, the wife of the man who owned her 14 years. She was brought here and tried for that murder. She was found guilty and in this courtroom she was sentenced to hang by the neck until she was dead. She was returned to the jail and she spent her last christmas on earth in the cells of our jail waiting for the new year and her eventual execution. But when this court that, met, it is important that the governor himself sat up here as chief magistrate. His counselors sitting to either side. Here they would ensure that his majestys peace when broken was quickly repaired. Earlier in the century there were blackbeard pirates tried here on this spot. 15 were brought here to williamsburg. One was acquitted. One was pardoned. And 13 were hanged. Later on we know that while there were horse thieves and there were murderers who were tried here, as well as women who were accused of killing children. Ard that was the only time there was no presumption of innocence. Once the virginia declaration of rights was passed the men who set him were no longer part of the administrative or legislative government. Do judiciary was separate and independent. What had been the old council of virginia was put into three groups. The justices of the high court. They still kept the name the General Court. Eventually they would finally at a chancery court. Then the council of virginia remained the council of state, advising the governor, and then what had been the legislative functions of that body became the senate of virginia, a body that still exists today. In fact the General Assembly is , said to be the oldest continuously englishspeaking legislative body on the planet. I might leave you with the thought that it is our rights as criminals that changed their he very little during the American Revolution. You have the right to a jury trial, right to call witnesses on your behalf and challenge those brought against you. And that worked so well that people were not interested in changing any of that one bit. Although we still argue about the application of all these principles to this day. Thank you for coming to the capital and to colonial williamsburg. We appreciate your time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org]