In OTL, Virginia was one of the last States to ratify the Constitution, finally doing so on June 25, 1788. It was the tenth State to do so (the ninth had ratified on June 20).
The fact that it was the tenth State to ratify the Constitution is significant, because the Constitution states, in Article VII, that the Constitution would go into effect between the States which had ratified it, once NINE States had ratified the document. States which had not ratified it were NOT part of the Union until they did ratify it. So between June 21 and June 25, Virginia was, in reality, an independent country (as were New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island until they ratified the Constitution).
There was strong opposition to the ratification of the Constitution in Virginia, led by men such as Patrick Henry. It took all the prestige and political resources of men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison to get the document ratified. But what if they had failed, and Virginia declared its intention to remain an independent country?
The fact that it was the tenth State to ratify the Constitution is significant, because the Constitution states, in Article VII, that the Constitution would go into effect between the States which had ratified it, once NINE States had ratified the document. States which had not ratified it were NOT part of the Union until they did ratify it. So between June 21 and June 25, Virginia was, in reality, an independent country (as were New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island until they ratified the Constitution).
There was strong opposition to the ratification of the Constitution in Virginia, led by men such as Patrick Henry. It took all the prestige and political resources of men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison to get the document ratified. But what if they had failed, and Virginia declared its intention to remain an independent country?