Points to Remember
can assemblies over rights was symptomatic of a more fundamental
disagreement: the meaning of the English Constitution and of constitutional government.
11. The year 1776 marks the birth of constitutional government in the
United States and in the world at large. This was the first time in the
world’s history that a large group of communities—now independent
and sovereign States—had begun the formation of their own governments under written constitutions. This was also the year in which the
Articles of Confederation, our first national constitution, was written.
12. The principal figure in the drafting of the new State constitutions
was John Adams, ‘‘the father of American constitutionalism.’’ His pamphlet, ‘‘Thoughts on Government,’’ was widely used as a source of understanding, and Adams was the chief architect of the Massachusetts
Constitution of 1780. This was the best of the early State constitutions
and the first to employ a check and balance system.
13. The first State constitutions contained a variety of flaws requiring
subsequent correction. None was written by a constitutional convention
or submitted to the people for approval. The first State constitution resting on a thoroughly republican base was the Massachusetts Constitution
of 1780, which set the standard for the United States Constitution. It is still
in force today and is the oldest constitution in the country.
14. In general, our first State constitutions contained three basic weaknesses: (a) They failed to provide for an adequate system of separation
of powers; (b) all but the Constitution of New York failed to establish an
independent executive; (c) all lacked a provision establishing the constitution as the supreme law. In addition, a number of State constitutions neglected to provide for their amendment. Nor did all of the early
State constitutions contain a bill of rights.
15. The first draft of the Articles of Confederation was made in the
summer of 1776. But the document was not submitted to the States for
approval until the fall of 1777 and did not take effect until 1781. The
three major sources of contention among the States were: (a) the western
land claim of Virginia and other States; (b) the system of representation
in Congress; and (c) the basis for determining how much each State
should contribute to the national treasury. The most important issue in
the writing of the Articles was the question of State sovereignty. This
was resolved in favor of the States, Article II declaring that ‘‘Each State
retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.’’
16. The Articles of Confederation were little more than a treaty among
sovereign States. The States granted certain of the same basic rights and
privileges to citizens of other States as they granted to their own citi-
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