John A. Carter was a Virginia lawyer, farmer and politician, who represented Loudoun County, Virginia in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly for two terms each both before and after the American Civil War, as well as in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 and the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861.

The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 was an assembly of elected delegates chosen by the voters to write the fundamental law of Virginia. It is known as the Reform Convention because it liberalized Virginia political institutions.