 The British Parliament 's efforts to levy new taxes following the French and Indian War were deeply unpopular in the colonies . In the House of Burgesses , opposition to taxation without representation was led by Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee , among others . Virginians began to coordinate their actions with other colonies in 1773 , and sent delegates to the Continental Congress the following year . After the House of Burgesses was dissolved by the royal governor in 1774 , Virginia 's revolutionary leaders continued to govern via the Virginia Conventions . On May 15 , 1776 , the Convention declared Virginia 's independence from the British Empire and adopted George Mason 's Virginia Declaration of Rights , which was then included in a new constitution . Another Virginian , Thomas Jefferson , drew upon Mason 's work in drafting the national Declaration of Independence . 
