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"An Election of Government"

© Meg Greene Malvasi

"How few of the human race have ever enjoyed an opportunity of making an election of government," rejoiced John Adams (1735-1826) in 1776. At the same time that Americans struggled to win their independence on the battlefield, they also struggled to create new institutions of government to replace the British system that they had repudiated. The same desire to control their own destiny that prompted war against Great Britain also drove American revolutionaries to confront the monumental task before them. The effort to fashion a new government continued for more than fifteen years, culminating in the adoption of the federal Constitution in 1789. Its most crucial phase, however, occurred during the war itself, and at the state, not the national, level.

The formation of state governments began early in 1776, even before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Initially, the new state constitutions reflected the fear of executive power that had become so pronounced during the 1760s and early 1770s. Gradually, though, Americans became equally concerned about the instability of governments too responsive to the popular will. In a revision of many state constitutions, therefore, they gave renewed attention to striking a balance between popular democracy and governmental authority.

The first, and most basic, difference between the American and British systems of constitutional government was that American constitutions, unlike their English counterpart, were written down. Americans believed that the ambiguity of the British system of constitutional government had opened the way for the corruption of English and colonial politics. To escape a similar fate, American statesmen insisted that their own governments rest on clearly stated and permanently inscribed laws, rules, and regulations, so that no individual or group could pervert them.

The second difference between the American state constitutions and the English constitution was that the power of the executive was circumscribed, although only the leaders of Pennsylvania went so far as to eliminate the executive altogether. Other state legislatures retained the office of governor, inserting into their constitutions provisions that sharply curtailed his power over appointments, reduced or eliminated his right to veto bills, and prevented him from dissolving or otherwise interfering with the legislature itself. Above all, every state constitution forbade the governor or any other executive officer from retaining a seat in the legislature, thus ensuring that, unlike in England, the executive and the legislative branches of government would remain wholly separate. In restricting executive and expanding legislative power, the new constitutions moved in the direction of popular, democratic government. They were not, however, fully democratic instruments. Only in Georgia and Pennsylvania did the legislature consist of one house. In all the other states there was an upper and a lower chamber, and in most cases, the upper chamber was designed to represent the interests of wealthy and propertied citizens. In all states, moreover, there were property qualifications for voting. Ordinarily a modest amount of taxable property qualified an individual to vote, yet there were instances when the requirements were much more stringent. Such restrictions often had a limited impact, since property ownership among white men was widespread. But the idea of universal suffrage, even among white men, was not yet an accepted part of American government.

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