Acts passed at a General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia

This volume, printed by Samuel Pleasants in 1782, serves as a primary record of the legislative proceedings in Virginia during the final stages of the American Revolutionary War. Following the formalization of the state's constitution, these acts reflect the administrative efforts to stabilize the Commonwealth’s legal framework, covering topics from taxation and military enlistment to the management of state resources during the transition from a British colony to a sovereign entity.

The physical design of the publication aligns with the utilitarian aesthetic of late 18th-century official state printing. As printer to the Commonwealth, Pleasants was tasked with disseminating legal statutes to local magistrates and officials across Virginia. These collections were essential for standardizing law throughout the state's counties, providing a necessary bridge between the legislative actions taken in Richmond and the practical governance required in a post-revolutionary landscape.