Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, it arrived too late to be considered. Madison's involvement in Virginia's founding charter would later inform his work on the United States Constitution. Jefferson later criticized the final version, arguing it lacked sufficient structural checks and failed to secure a truly balanced republican government.

Adopted on June 29, 1776, the Constitution formally dissolved Virginia's allegiance to the British crown and accused King George III of tyranny. It created a bicameral legislature--the General