On this day 250 years ago, the so-called New Hampshire General Assembly promulgated the first state constitution, the first in fact. american Constitution. As we enter a new year and prepare to mark the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in July, we must remember our state constitution, which reflects the spirit of the 76 years that preceded it. Although this constitution would soon be eclipsed in relative importance by the constitutions of Virginia and Pennsylvania and their accompanying declarations of rights, New Hampshire’s first constitution, the practical concerns that prompted its adoption, and the primitive federalism that were central to its process, provide objective lessons in state constitution-making. The promulgation of this document marked an important turning point in the colonies’ path toward representative self-government and federalism, and set the tone for subsequent constitutional development.
early experiments
New Hampshire’s experiment with independent government preceded the Constitution, and this experience influenced decisions to draft the Constitution. After the closure of Boston Harbor in May 1774, the New Hampshire Colonial Assembly rebelled against the colony’s royal governor and appointed a State Correspondence Commission to coordinate with other colonies resisting Britain’s coercive policies. The governor responded by adjourning and ultimately dissolving the Legislature, but the Legislature responded by issuing its own summons. This fraudulent assembly required New Hampshire towns to send representatives to what would become New Hampshire’s first state legislature. Two months later, the group met and resolved to recommend that the town elect delegates to the Second Continental Congress, allocate funds to defray expenses, and raise funds to provide relief to those affected by the Boston Harbor Act.
The state legislature, which seemed to have achieved its goal, would be immediately dissolved. Nevertheless, things in the colony were rapidly spiraling out of control. In December 1774, four months before his famous Midnight Ride, Paul Revere rode 55 miles from Boston to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to warn of the approaching British army. Patriots quickly rallied and stormed the harbor fortifications, seizing gunpowder that was later used in the Battle of Bunker Hill. In response to the crisis of authority, the second state legislature convened in January 1775, calling on the people of New Hampshire to “cease and desist from all trespasses and injuries to persons and their property, and all encumbrances of every kind” and “to show due obedience to the magistrates.” As royal authority weakened, new authorities were needed to maintain order in the colonies. However, state legislatures recognized that their powers were limited and were reluctant to act on their own to grant them that authority.
The situation quickly changes when the colonial civil government completely collapses. Over the next few months, the battles of Lexington and Concord and the formal battle of Bunker Hill would begin. In August, fearing for his life, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire fled the colony and never returned. Faced with the awkward situation of having no government in the colony, the New Hampshire Congress sent a letter to the Second Continental Congress “to obtain the advice and direction of Congress as to the manner of our government.”chic) justice, and regulate our private police force. ” Anticipating the reaction, the state legislature called a new election with expanded voting rights.
It was unclear exactly what the Continental Congress’s reaction would be. In June 1775, the Massachusetts convention received a request from Congress for “the clearest advice as to the commencement and exercise of the powers of civil government,” and Congress recommended that elections be held and a government formed under the colonial charter of 1691 until the king appointed a governor “who consents to govern the colony in accordance with the charter.” Unlike Massachusetts, New Hampshire had always been a royal colony and had no charter to fall back on. Colonial authority was closely linked to the Royal Governor-General, who was “the head of the province, the center of local government, and the supreme officer of the colony,” and the “Attorney General,” who exercised the power to appoint and dismiss virtually all judges, magistrates, sheriffs, and all other officials.
In a bold move, the Continental Congress recommended that the New Hampshire legislature “convene a full and free representation of the people, and, if they shall judge it necessary, establish such form of government as will best produce the welfare of the people, and most effectually secure the peace and order of the state, during the continuation of the present conflict between Great Britain and the colonies.” New Hampshire’s delegates to the Continental Congress were satisfied with the result, but noted that for diplomatic reasons, “the government is limited to the present competition,” but no one was too concerned about this, since “once any government is established, it can only be changed by negotiation with Great Britain,” although at this stage the outlook looked quite bleak.
put pen to paper
The Legislature began drafting a constitution and completed the work from December 21, 1775 to January 5, 1776. The most notable feature of the state legislature’s document is its preamble, which is 930 words and makes up more than one-third of the constitution. The Framers carefully began by noting that they were “elected and appointed,” “authorized, and empowered” by the “free suffrage” of New Hampshire, and that they were acting on the recommendations of the Continental Congress. Regarding the immediate motive for enacting the Constitution, the Framers realistically wrote that due to the “sudden resignation” of the royal governor and his supporters from within the government, the colony was left “devoid of laws” and “no administrative tribunals were in session for the punishment of criminal offenders,” and that “the lives and property of the honest people of this colony were in danger of being exposed to the intrigues and wicked designs of evil men.” The state legislatures, empowered and encouraged by the Continental Congress, were finally ready to intervene and act authoritatively, establishing a government “for the maintenance of peace and order, and for the security of life and property of the inhabitants of this colony.”
This constitution was enacted at a time when there was still at least some possibility of peaceful reconciliation with Great Britain. The framers protested that the Chinese-created government would only “continue during the present unfortunate and unnatural conflict with Great Britain,” depended on it, and “never intended to abandon it.” Again, in the form of proto-federalism, the state legislatures deferred to the Continental Congress, whose members declared that they would “be glad if a reconciliation between us and our parents could be effected, subject to the approval of the Continental Congress, in whose prudence and wisdom we have confidence.”
After declaring their purpose and expressing their desire for peace, the framers set about creating a substantive government. Parliament will become a House of Representatives, which will function as the lower house of a bicameral parliament with annual elections. Twelve members of the House of Representatives from specific geographic districts are elected to the Senate, or “council,” and are elected annually thereafter. All laws had to be passed by both branches of the legislature, and provisions were made for the appointment of various civil servants by the legislature. Although there were no explicit rights guarantees, the document referred to the “natural and constitutional rights and privileges” of the people, which would have been understood as protected by common law.
Sowing the seeds of representative democracy
The New Hampshire Constitution of 1776 was short-lived and replaced in 1784. However, its success cannot be judged by the length of its implementation period. Rather, it must be evaluated by what it causes. This hastily drafted document was a new written constitution. Therein lies the seed that would blossom into the representative government that Americans enjoy today in their states and the federal government, including bicameral legislatures and periodic universal suffrage. This classic state constitution began what historian Gordon S. Wood called “the most creative and important period of constitutionalism in modern Western history,” not because of the U.S. Constitution but because of the revolutionary state constitutions that preceded it by more than a decade.
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The New Hampshire Constitution of 1776 is a quintessential American document and one that Americans should remember with gratitude.
Nathaniel M. Fauci is a professor of law at Capital University School of Law in Columbus, Ohio.
Recommended citation: Nathaniel M. Fouch, The story of the first state constitutionSᴛᴀᴛᴇ Cᴏᴜʀᴛ Rᴇᴘᴏʀᴛ (January 5, 2026), https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/story-first-state-constitution
