Bacon's Laws were a series of reform measures that were passed in the
colonial assembly
The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. The British monarch issued colonial charters that established either royal colonies, proprieta ...
of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
after
Nathaniel Bacon invaded
Jamestown on June 23, 1676, and had forced royal Governor
William Berkeley and the Assembly to grant him a commission to fight the Indians. The laws gave white male settlers a voice in setting local taxes; forbade officeholders from demanding additional fees for performing the duties of the office; restricted the number of offices an individual man could hold; required officeholders to be Virginia-born or resident in the colony for three years; and restored voting rights to all freemen. The aim of the reforms was to put more power in the hands of local men and to limit the practice of a small number of privileged outsiders monopolizing offices and enriching themselves at the expense of Virginians.
[Roark, James, et al. ''The American Promise: A History of the United States'', second edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's 2002, 58-59]
See also
*
Treaty of 1677
The Treaty of 1677 (also known as the Treaty Between Virginia And The Indians 1677 or Treaty of Middle Plantation) was signed in Virginia on May 28, 1677, between the English Crown and representatives from Native American tribes in Virginia, in ...
*
Virginia Slave Codes of 1705
The Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 (formally entitled An act concerning Servants and Slaves), were a series of laws enacted by the Colony of Virginia's House of Burgesses in 1705 regulating the interactions between slaves and citizens of the crow ...
References
{{US-law-stub
Government of colonial Virginia