The Virginia Constitution was the first constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Key contributors included George Mason, whose draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights included in the constitution helped inspire the Declaration of Independence, and James Madison, who used this constitution as a framework for ideas he would help develop at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Virginia Constitution established several key ideas foundational to the United States Constitution, including the separation of powers, executive, legislative, and judicial responsibilities, and a bicameral legislature.