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Connecticut is known as the “Constitutional State” due to its adoption of the Basic Order of 1638/39, the first written constitution in the colonies. The document established the foundations for future democratic republics and outlined the rights and responsibilities of government.
Connecticut is referred to as the “Constitutional State” due to the fact that it has the first written constitution recognized by many historians. On January 24, 1639, the Connecticut colony council passed a resolution to adopt a system of government known as the Basic Order of 1638/39. It wasn’t until a Connecticut historian, John Fiske, pushed for the establishment of the moniker “Constitution State” in the late 1950s that the state officially adopted the slogan. The General Assembly passed a resolution in 1959 which enforced the motto.
The nickname “Constitution State” was made possible by the desire of a number of Massachusetts residents to seek religious and social freedom during the Anglican Reformation period in the British colonies. A section of land was selected by the Massachusetts General Court for settlement; however, he was in discussions with other settlers regarding property rights. In response to this issue, a group of magistrates from the proposed Connecticut region met to resolve the dispute. Known as the March Commission, it organized under the leadership of Roger Ludlow, widely known as one of Connecticut’s principal founders.
This commission was only to last until March 1636, at which time a legal system was to be established throughout the region. Due to the organization’s success in resolving the land dispute and building an ecclesiastical society, the group remained in power and began the process of self-governing the colony, a unique occurrence during the era. Ludlow took it upon himself to announce to Massachusetts that he had a desire to govern himself. As such, he drafted the Fundamental Orders of 1638/39 as the first constitution in the colonies. This effectively established Connecticut as a constitutional state and an independent entity.
One of the unique factors in the document is the fact that it established many of the foundations later used in drafting the Constitution of the United States and many of the future democratic republics around the world. The Fundamental Orders held that government was based on the rights of individuals, meaning that it served the greater good through the will of the people rather than a divine right. Every free male had the right to elect representatives through a secret ballot process. The document also outlined the duties and responsibilities of government, while also addressing its limitations on some matters, a principle that still applies in constitutions across the country and the world.
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