 A Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments in Cases Heretofore Capital |
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This bill lays out punishments that suit a series of specific crimes. It is part of a series of bills revising Virginia's colonial laws as Virginia transitioned from colony to commonwealth. It limits the use of capital punishment for crimes other than murder and treason.
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| Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia Colony |
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Between 1639 and 1691, Virginia Colony established a series of statutes that increasingly limited the rights of Indigenous and Black residents while expanding the rights of Europeans. These acts reflect the increasing racialization of the colonial legal code.
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| Administration of Justice Act |
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One of the Intolerable Acts, the Administration of Justice Act was known as the Murder Act by colonists. The Administration of Justice Act allowed the Governor to remove any acquisition placed on a royal official if the governor did not believe the official would receive a fair trial. Colonists referred to this act as the Murder Act because they believed it would allow royal officials to get away with murder. The Intolerable, or Coercive, Acts were passed as a reaction to the Boston Tea party to reduce the rights of Massachusetts colonists and strengthen royal control over the colony. After this act and the other Intolerable Acts were passed, the First Continental Congress met to formalize a reaction to the perceived overstepping of British parliament.
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| An act concerning Servants and Slaves |
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Acts passed by the Virginia General Assembly reflected increasing racialization of the colonial legal code.
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| An act declaring the Negro, Mulatto, and Indian slaves within this dominion, to be real estate |
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Acts passed by the Virginia General Assembly reflected increasing racialization of the colonial legal code.
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| An Act to provide for designation by cities and towns of segregation districts for residence of white and colored persons |
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Acts passed by the Virginia General Assembly reflected race-neutral language of the legal code after the Civil War. Application of these statutes resulted in entrenched Jim Crow segregation.
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| Articles of Confederation |
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The first constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation, were only in place for eight years due to the limited power granted to the federal government. The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the current constitution in 1789.
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| Boston Port Act |
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One of the Intolerable or Coercive Acts, the Boston Port Act closed Boston harbor to all commerce until the city paid for the tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Port Act attempted to subdue Boston’s revolutionary residents. After this act and the other Intolerable Acts were passed, the First Continental Congress met to formalize a reaction to the perceived overstepping of British parliament.
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| Brown v. Board of Education |
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The Supreme Court found in Brown v. Board of Education that educational segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This landmark case overturned the precedent created by the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, and ended the Jim Crow era.
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| Charter of Virginia |
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The first charter of the U.S. colonies established the precedent for the ways future colonies were chartered.
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| Commonwealth of Virginia v. Quander |
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Newspaper coverage from the Alexandria Gazette in 1874, reporting on the court cases of Felix and Julia Quander. The married couple were charged with resisting the efforts of Fairfax County constables executing a warrant for the seizure of cattle belonging to the Quanders. Felix, Julia, and their four children were all arrested, brought before a justice, and bailed for further examination. Two months later, Felix and Julia's cases were brought before the Fairfax County Court, where Julia was found not guilty of assault and battery, and Felix was fined $10.
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| Constitution of the United States of America |
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The Constitution of the United States of America outlines the structure of the United States Government. This document is the foundation of United States' laws. Article 1 provides directions for the legislative branch and the basic differences between the two legislative bodies. Article 2 outlines the role of the Executive Branch of government, led by the President. The document gives significant power to the legislative branch and limits the power of the executive. Article 3 organizes the Judicial Branch and gives it the authority to keep the other branches adherent to the Constitution. Article 4 provides description on the interaction between states and the federal government. The Constitution provides minimal guidance for each branch of government, but also provides methods to amend it.
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| Debt Recovery Act |
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The Debt Recovery Act of 1732 was a British law that allowed enslaved people to be used as collateral for loans. This sharply contrasted the Spanish colonial policy that prevented enslaved people from being used as collateral.
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| Declaration of Independence |
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The Declaration of Independence formally announced the separation of the 13 United States from the United Kingdom. The document lists the reasons members of the second Continental Congress believed they should no longer be under British colonial rule.
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| Defining Race & Lifelong Servitude in the Colonial Americas |
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This module links Spanish colonial documents from the turn of the sixteenth century to British colonial innovations in the seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries, demonstrating how European colonists developed a racialized hierarchy that justified the widespread enslavement of Africans and their descendants.
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| Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office (1887) |
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Acts passed by the Virginia General Assembly reflected race-neutral language of the legal code after the Civil War. Application of these statutes resulted in entrenched Jim Crow segregation.
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| Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office (1902) |
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Acts passed by the Virginia General Assembly reflected race-neutral language of the legal code after the Civil War. Application of these statutes resulted in entrenched Jim Crow segregation.
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| Emancipation Proclamation |
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The Emancipation Proclamation was a wartime measure that freed the enslaved people in territories occupied by confederate forces. Given by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the document represents the first step in ending American slavery by declaring those enslaved within confederate territories free and protected by the United States military.
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| George Quander versus the Law |
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George Quander was the nephew of Felix Quander. Like his uncle, George had run-ins with Fairfax County officials, culminating in 1908, when he was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff serving a warrant. The Alexandria Gazette is unsympathetic in its coverage of George Quander's encounters with the court, its officers, and the racist white citizens of Fairfax County.
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| In the case of E. M. Hewlett |
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In 1886, Felix Quander entered into a legal battle with Emanuel Molyneaux Hewlett, a prominent Black attorney in Washington, D.C., that was covered by several of the area's newspapers. Hewlett attempted to collect three cows and a horse from Quander as payment for legal fees, which Quander contested. After two trials, Hewlett was found not guilty of larceny. Two years later, a second dispute occurred between the two men when Quander located the previously taken horse. Hewlett, Quander, and two of Quander's sons were charged with disorderly conduct and fined $5 after an incident in front of the Police Court that was covered by the Evening Star.
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| Lord Dunmore's Proclamation |
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In this proclamation, Lord Dunmore, the last Royal Governor of Virginia, declared martial law in the colony at the start of the American Revolution. He incentivized enslaved people to join the British Army by offering them freedom in exchange for service, which in turn helped mobilize American enslavers against the British Army.
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| Loving v. Virginia |
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In this landmark civil rights case, the Supreme Court ruled that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional for violating the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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 Notice to Republican Voters of the 9th Congressional District of Virginia |
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This broadside publicized information about new voting laws and poll taxes in Virginia.
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| Of Colored Persons |
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Acts passed by the Virginia General Assembly reflected race-neutral language of the legal code after the Civil War. Application of these statutes resulted in entrenched Jim Crow segregation.
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| Of Masters and Apprentices |
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Acts passed by the Virginia General Assembly reflected race-neutral language of the legal code after the Civil War. Application of these statutes resulted in entrenched Jim Crow segregation.
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