The fundamental orders of connecticut was the first written constitution in america

Early History

While Connecticut was first explored by the Dutch, who founded trading posts, the first permanent settlements were made by English Puritans from Massachusetts, starting in 1633. 

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• Early History
• Did You Know?
• Historical Facts
• Brief Outline
• Significance
• What was the 1st written constitution in America?
• Did Connecticut make the first constitution?
• Why was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut a model for the US Constitution?
• Who wrote the first written constitution?

From the first, Connecticut enjoyed a great measure of political independence, proclaiming in its Fundamental Orders of 1639 a democratic principle of government based on the will of the people. These Fundamental Orders are said to have been the first written Constitution of a democratic government; that’s why Connecticut today is nicknamed "The Constitution State." 

Agriculture and trade were primary activities of 17th century colonists, but because of limited land Connecticut people quickly turned to manufacturing. 

During the American Revolution, Connecticut gave freely of her blood and wealth. Her soldiers were on the battle line from Quebec to Carolina. It was General Israel Putnam at the battle of Bunker Hill who cried: "Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" Patriot-spy Nathan Hale, as he was about to be hanged by the British, said: "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." 

To George Washington, Connecticut was "The Provision State" because of supplies contributed to his army by Gov. Jonathan Trumbull - the only Colonial governor, incidentally, to support the cause of America’s independence from Great Britain. 

From 1703 to 1875, Connecticut had two capitals; sessions of the General Assembly met alternately in Hartford and New Haven. Since then, the capital has been Hartford.

(Acknowledgment: The following is the preface and edited version of the Fundamental Orders from Living American Documents, selected and edited by Isidore Starr, Lewis Paul Todd, and Merle Curti, ©1961 Harcourt, Brace & Co., inc.)

"The British people do not have a written constitution. They have an "unwritten" constitution composed of customs, traditions, and the important documents such as their Magna Carta and their Bill of Rights.

Some of the Englishmen who settled in the American colonies, including the men who founded the colony of Connecticut in 1636, did not have much faith in this approach to government. Unpleasant memories of recent authoritarian acts by England's rulers prompted the Connecticut settlers to put their plan of government into writing.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written constitution in America. Whereas the Mayflower Compact was a general statement in favor of majority rule and government in the interest of the common welfare, the Fundamental Orders set up a detailed scheme of government in which the sovereign power rested with the freemen. No mention was made of the king.

This document was a step in the direction of present-day democracy in that it set the example of a written constitution as the basis of government - a constitution which could be read and understood by all and which could not be changed by the will of one man or a small group."

East Hampton was a confederated township within the colony of Connecticut from 1657 until 1666 when it was brought into the colony of New York (under protest) by the Nicholls pattent. The town citizens of East Hampton cherished the liberties which they exercised within the colony of Connecticut. The MFOP, as the trustee corporation of Montauk, is a direct descendant of the town government of East Hampton at that time. We are intent on asserting and exercising these same fundamental rights and purposes as put forth in this document. Many of the principles of governance contained within the Fundamental Orders are to be incorporated in the Articulated Rights and Constitution of the MFOP/Montauk Trustee Corporation.

See: The Society of Coloial Wars in the State of Connecticut for a full version of the Fundamental Orders and other info.

History states that the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut is referred to as the first ever written constitution in North America. Historyplex shares important facts about this historical event.

Did You Know?

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut modeled the Declaration of Independence.

Common people had no say in the working of the government. The leaders that rose to power during the historic year of 1638 were not elected by the people. The state still bore the shackles of monarchy. Under such circumstances, a very historic sermon took place in the meeting house in Hartford, Connecticut on May 31, 1638. Reverend Thomas Hooker stated that ”The foundation of authority is laid firstly in the free consent of people.”

According to his Puritan beliefs, he believed that God granted common people the power to select their leader and create laws for a good governance. Inspired by the sermon, these ideas were put into practice through the Fundamental Orders on January 15, 1639 by the settlements at Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield. It remained as a guideline for the laws of these colonies till 1662.

Given below are the salient features of this historic document.

Connecticut

Definition

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: First written constitutional document of America was made to form a unified government for the colonies of the Connecticut area (Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield).

Historical Facts

➺ In the year 1614, Dutch explorer Adriaen Block arrived on the Connecticut coastline and established trade via the Connecticut River.

➺ In early 1631, the Earl of Warwick signed the Warwick Patent, establishing the deed of land rights in Southern Connecticut. English settlers established their colonies in the modern-day Hartford and New Haven. They thought the Dutch posed a threat to the trade dynamics as well as the natives. Hence, the then governor of the Saybrook colony, John Winthrop Jr. elected soldier and engineer, Lion Gardiner, to construct a fortified wall for the colonies.

➺ In 1633, William Holmes, of the Plymouth Colony, established the first English settlement which is now known as the town of Windsor.

➺ In 1634, Captain John Oldham established the town of Wethersfield. Subsequently, in the year 1636, Reverend Thomas Hooker, a prominent Puritan religious leader founded the colony of Hartford.

➺ In 1637, the colonies of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield declared war on the Pequot, a native American tribe, to take over trade and livestock.

➺ In 1638, the colony of New Haven is founded by few of the prominent Puritans. It is the first planned colony in America.

➺ On May 31, 1638, Reverend Thomas Hooker made a powerful speech that laid the basics for the establishment of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. He is also called “The Father of American democracy” because of his ideological thoughts on people having the right to choose their magistrates.

➺ On January 15, 1639, the colonies of Wethersfield, Hartford, and Windsor unified under the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.

Brief Outline

➺ It provided a governmental framework for the Connecticut colonies from 1639 to 1662. Roger Ludlow of Windsor, a lawyer, drafted the Fundamental Orders with the assistance of Hartford colonists John Haynes, who was the former Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Edward Hopkins, and John Steel.

➺ The first written constitutional document consisted of a preamble and 11 orders. The preamble bound the three towns to be governed in a civil manner. It was equivalent to the Puritan biblical beliefs and church covenant.

➺ It called for sessions of general courts every April and September and the appointment of a governor and six magistrates. The governor could preside over his post for a period of two years, and could not be elected as a governor again. John Haynes was elected as Connecticut’s first governor.

➺ The governor and the magistrates were to be elected by freemen at the Court of Election. All the power was vested with the General Court, and any references to the crown or religious text for voting purpose were abolished.

➺ The General Court was held as supreme authority to establish and repel laws, impose taxes, distribute land, arrest public defaulters. It rose as the sole legislative, executive, judicial, and administrative governing body.

➺ Due to these constitutional implements in the colonies, the General Assembly officially designated Connecticut as ‘The Constitution State’ in 1959.

Significance

Through the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, voting rights were exercised by non-church members for the first time, which limited the power of the government. All the laws were constitution-based, and it propagated the idea of a Representative Government.

The main focal point of the Fundamental Orders was the welfare of the community as a whole. It paved the way for a rational beginning to the Fundamental Rights of the people.

What was the 1st written constitution in America?

America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money.

Did Connecticut make the first constitution?

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were adopted on January 14, 1639, and the document has often been referred to as the world's first written constitution.

Why was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut a model for the US Constitution?

Relying largely on a philosophy promoted by Hartford founder, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut supported rule through “the consent of the governed.” The concept made such an impression on Thomas Jefferson that the Virginian inserted those words in the Declaration of Independence.

Who wrote the first written constitution?

James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution because of his pivotal role in the document's drafting as well as its ratification. Madison also drafted the first 10 amendments -- the Bill of Rights.

What was the first written constitution in America?

Was the Fundamental Orders the first constitution?

Is Connecticut's Fundamental Orders a written constitution?

Why was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut considered to be the first constitution in America?