Was the Constitution based on political philosophy or on hard experience? It probably comes as no surprise that the answer is both.
When the American colonies declared their independence in 1776, they ceased to be colonies of Britain and became nation-states. That’s how they came to be called “states.” Two months before declaring independence, the American Continental Congress passed a resolution urging each former colony to form new a new state government. Each colony already possessed either a charter granted by the crown or another fundamental law, such as the Massachusetts Body of Liberties agreed on by Massachusetts colonists all the way back in 1641. That charter and those of other colonies provided for the right to jury trial, freedom of speech, and other rights we associate with being Americans.
Four states had already adopted new state constitutions even before Congress asked them to. While there were differences between the laws and traditions of the states, they all, like the old 1641 Massachusetts charter, provided for jury trial and freedom of speech and the press. By 1780, all thirteen American states had amended their colonial charters or adopted totally new constitutions. It would be seven more years before the states would call a convention in Philadelphia to write a new constitution for the United States national government.
The Philadelphia delegates did not operate in a vacuum. They were instructed not just by studying the history of republicanism and the political theories of Locke, Montesquieu and others. They also learned from the disappointing experience of weak government under the Articles of Confederation, and they had the experience of living under the new state constitutions that already contained many of the attributes they would provide the new national government—three independent branches of government; checks and balances; electing representatives to a house and senate, and a sole executive, the governor, or in this case, the president.
"The History of Our Freedoms" is produced by KEDT-FM in Corpus Christi. Dr. Bill Chriss is a historian and legal scholar. For more on history and the constitution, check out his blog at https://drbillchriss.substack.com/.
