PRIMARY DOCUMENT

The General Assembly Adjourns (1776)

ORIGINAL IMAGES
Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia
CONTEXT

In this excerpt from the Journals of the House of Burgesses, the House of Burgesses is seen to dissolve as a lawmaking body and as the lower house of Virginia’s General Assembly during the American Revolution (1775–1783). In the original manuscript, the House secretary wrote “Finis” in dramatically large letters. Some spelling has been modernized and contractions expanded.

Author: General Assembly
    Transcription Source: John Pendleton Kennedy, ed., Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773–1776 (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1905), 283.

    FULL TEXT

    Thursday, the 12th of October. 15 Geo. III. 1775.

    Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia

    Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, May 6, 1776

    The House met according to the Adjournment; but no more than thirty seven Members appearing, which was not a sufficient number to proceed to Business.

    The House adjourned til the first Thursday in March next.

    Thursday, the 7th of March. 16 Geo. III. 1776.

    The House met according to the Adjournment; but no more than thirty two Members appearing, which was not a sufficient number to proceed to Business;

    The House adjourned til the first Monday in May next.

    Monday, the 6th of May. 16 Geo. III. 1776.

    Several Members met, but did neither proceed to Business, nor adjourn, as a House of Burgesses.

    FINIS.

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    TIMELINE
    May 1776
    The House of Burgesses ceases to meet as a lawmaking body and as the lower house of Virginia's General Assembly during the American Revolution.
    CITE THIS ENTRY
    APA Citation:
    General Assembly. The General Assembly Adjourns (1776). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/the-general-assembly-adjourns-1776.
    MLA Citation:
    General Assembly. "The General Assembly Adjourns (1776)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 07 Jun. 2023
    Last updated: 2020, December 07
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