The First American Constitutions Republican Ideology and the Making of the State Constitutions in the Revolutionary Era

by Adams, Willi Paul; Kimber, Rita and Robert; Morris, Richard B.

• ISBN13: 9780742520684
• ISBN10: 0742520684
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-12-11
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

For the last twenty years this book has been cited by every serious writer on early American constitutional development. Any constitutional history of the independent United States must begin with this comprehensive study. This volume contains two new chapters: one demonstrating precedents in the state constitutions for the U.S. Constitution, and another chapter critically testing the republicanism over liberalism thesis against political ideas and institutional arrangements that constitute the first state constitutions.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Richard B. Morris
Preface	xv
Preface to the Expanded Edition	xix
Introduction	1	(24)
The First American Constitutions
Republicanism, Federalism, and Constitutionalism
The English Constitution in the Eighteenth Century
The Colonists' Theory of Empire
The American Concept of a Constitution
The Founding Spirit
Government by Congresses and Committees, 1773--1776	25	(22)
The Assumption of Power
Units of Revolutionary Action
A Case Study: The Assumption of Power in Massachusetts
The Committees of Correspondence and the First Continental Congress
The End of Government by Congresses and Committees
The Role of the Continental Congress, 1775--1776	47	(14)
Massachusetts Requests Advice
A Model Constitution for All the States?
The Initiatives of New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Virginia
The Resolution of May 10 and 15, 1776
``Choosing Deputies to Form a Government'': The Making of the First State Constitutions	61	(35)
Organizing the ``Constituent Power''
Connecticut and Rhode Island
The State Constitutions, 1776--1780
Constituent Power on the Frontier
Practical Limits of the Constituent Power
``Republic'' and ``Democracy'' in Political Rhetoric	96	(19)
``Republican'' as a Smear Word
Criticism of Monarchical Government
Avowal of Republicanism
``Republic'' and ``Democracy'' as Synonyms
The Federalists' Usage in 1787
Forms versus Principles of Government: Harnessing Enlightenment Ideas to Anglo-American Institutions	115	(11)
Forms versus Principles
Thomas Paine and John Adams
Ten Principles of Republican Government
Popular Sovereignty	126	(21)
A European Perspective
Sovereignty Modified by Federalism
The Sovereignty Clauses in the State Constitutions
The Right to Resist Government
The Right to Change a Constitution
Sovereignty Limited by Civil Rights
Popular Sovereignty as the Criterion of Political Radicalism
Liberty	147	(14)
An Asylum for Which Liberty?
English Liberties and the Debate on Colonial Government and Independence
Liberty and Liberties in the State Constitutions
Liberty and Law Liberty and Property
Equality	161	(26)
Equality in the Empire
Equality in the Declaration of Independence
Equality Clauses in the Bills of Rights
Education and Property as Factors of Inequality
Race as a Factor of Inequality
Members Only
Property	187	(29)
The Colonists and the ``Natural Right of Property''
Property Clauses in the State Constitutions
Primogeniture and Entail
Property Qualifications for Voting
The Restrictive Effect of Property Qualifications
Justification and Criticism of Property Qualifications
The Common Good	216	(12)
The Common Good versus Colonial Rule
The Common Good in the State Constitutions
``Public good is, as it were, a common bank''
Parties, Representation, and the Common Good
Representation	228	(26)
``Virtual'' Representation and the Colonial Assemblies
Representative Democracy
Equal Representation
Composition of Houses of Representatives and Senates
Short Terms of Office
Instructions: Direct Popular Influence on Legislation
The Public Eye
Rotation in Office
A Comparative Outlook
The Separation of Powers	254	(274)
Colonial Origins
Simple Government Rejected
Unicameral versus Bicameral Legislature
Separation Clauses in the State Constitutions
Beginnings of the Presidential System
Federalism	274	(16)
Independence and Federation
The Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775
The Articles of Confederation, 1776--1778
The Classic Issues: Representation and Regionalism
The State Constitutions and the Powers of the Confederation
Prospects for a New National Constitution
The State Constitutions' Analogies and Precedents for the United States Constitution	290	(11)
Instances of Reasoning by Analogy in 1787
Institutional Precedents: Presidents, Impeachment and the Senate
Procedural Precedents: Making, Ratifying and Amending a Constitution
Declarations of Rights
Conclusion
Testing the Republicanism versus Liberalism Hypotheses	301	(31)
American Republicanism in the Context of European Liberalism
``Republican'' and ``Democratic'' Principles
Liberal Checks on Power
Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Study of the Revolutionary Period's
Republicanism
Appendixes
Property Qualifications in First State Constitutions and Election Laws
Rotation in Office as Stipulated in Constitutions from 1776 to 1780	315	(17)
Bibliography	332	(25)
Supplementary Bibliography	357	(9)
Index	366