The State Convention At Richmond, VA., In Session

An engraving from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, published on February 15, 1868, depicts a working session of the constitutional convention that met in Richmond from December 3, 1867, to April 17, 1868. In the statewide election of delegates, African American males successfully voted for the first time; about two dozen black delegates were elected. Radical Republicans sympathetic to African American interests dominated the convention. On the final day of the convention the delegates approved a new constitution, which included among its reforms universal manhood suffrage, the establishment of a public school system, and more elective local offices. On July 6, 1869, voters ratified the constitution but rejected two clauses that would have disfranchised many Virginians who had supported the Confederacy.

Citation: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, AP2 .L42, Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA