The First State Constitutions, 1776–1783
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pose only, with the subsequent submission of the Constitution to the people for approval. These were the States of Massachusetts (1779–1780) and
New Hampshire (1779–1783) in their second attempts at establishing an
acceptable fundamental law.
Some of these early constitutions made important contributions to the
art of government which the Framers of the American Constitution later
adopted. Maryland’s constitution provided for the indirect election of
the upper house. Here the electoral college, which Mason had suggested
in Virginia, made its debut in American politics. The Constitution of New
York was the first to provide for popular election of the Governor and to
give the executive branch a reasonable degree of power and independence. Here was laid the foundation for the modern presidency under
the American Constitution. And the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780,
as we noted before, provided the model for a separation of powers based
on a system of checks and balances. The Framers also incorporated this
concept into the Constitution of 1787.
On the other hand, some of these first constitutions also contained major defects. In some ways, the Framers of the American Constitution profited as much from these mistakes as they did from the more successful
efforts. No doubt the peculiar constitution of Pennsylvania was the worst
of the lot and, above all, pointed out the risks of eccentricity and novelty.
Two of the assembly’s prominent leaders were mathematics professors.
Dominated by radicals, ‘‘not one-sixth of whom,’’ reported one observer,
‘‘has ever read a word upon constitutional topics,’’ the assembly threw
aside the advice of John Adams and ignored its colonial charter. Benjamin Franklin presided over the debacle. Franklin was a man of many talents, but it would seem that political science was not one of them. The
constitution of unbalanced government that emerged from these proceedings reflected several of his questionable political ideas, including
a unicameral legislature and a plural executive. The legislature was a single chamber. The executive consisted of a council of thirteen whose president and vice president were chosen by the council and the all-powerful
legislature. They were mere figureheads presiding over a council that
was virtually powerless. Thus, there was neither a Governor nor an upper house. The most bizarre feature of the Pennsylvania constitution,
however, was the provision prohibiting any change for the first seven