Tapping the Scales of Justice - A Dose of Connecticut Legal History Show The Royal Charter of 1662, granted by King Charles II, is one of the earliest and most significant legal documents in Connecticut history.  In 1687, King James II became intent upon gaining control of all the colonies and revoked the Royal Charters. He sent his Agent with an armed troop to seize the document. Here the story takes a dramatic twist. In the candle lit meeting room, leaders of the Connecticut colony met with Sir Edmond Andros, the King's Royal Governor of the Dominion. They gathered to debate the surrender of the Charter for several hours. Suddenly the room went dark. When the confusion cleared and the candles were lit again, it was discovered that the Charter was gone from the table. It was hidden in the trunk of a nearby large white oak tree. The legend has endured to this day, its significance emphasized by the selection of the Charter Oak for the The Royal Charter can be viewed at the Museum of Connecticut History in the Connecticut State Library and Connecticut Supreme Court complex. The frame is made of wood from the Charter Oak Tree. On August 21, 1856, a violent storm felled the Charter Oak Tree which was estimated to be nearly 1,000 years old. A monument was erected in 1905 at the location of the fallen tree. It stands at the corner of Charter Oak Avenue and Charter Oak Place in downtown Hartford. The monument is inscribed, "Near this spot stood the Charter Oak, memorable in the history of the colony of Connecticut as the hiding place of the charter October 31, 1687. The tree fell August 21, 1856." More information on the Charter Oak can be found on ConnecticutHistory.org Doses of Connecticut Legal History The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written constitution in the American colonies. In 1639, the three towns that comprised the Connecticut colony, Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, formed a common government based on the federal principle. The form of government provided the basis for the expansion of the colony and eventually became the framework for Connecticut’s first state constitution, adopted in 1776 and lasting until 1818. The Fundamental Orders is a constitution in the sense that it created a new people, laid out the political values of this people, established a new government, and defined its political institutions. The Fundamental Orders created a General Court that was composed of the three branches of government, a governor (the executive); twelve deputies—four from each town (the legislature); and six magistrates (the judiciary). The form was parliamentary in nature, empowering the deputies to elect the governor and the magistrates. As noted, the Fundamental Orders embodied the federal principle. The towns maintained their own form of government and conducted elections for colonial deputies, who were initially apportioned on the basis of each town rather than by population. Thus, the towns (or constituent units) provided the basis for representation. The powers of the colonial government were specified in Article X (a precursor to the enumerated powers found in the U.S. Constitution). These powers included the ability to levy taxes, make laws for the common good, settle land disputes, and punish crimes. Article X also included a supremacy clause. Finally, the Orders provided for expansion, allowing new towns to be added to the compact. Some other notable features of the Fundamental Orders include term limits for the governor, who was prohibited from serving two consecutive terms. More significantly, the government established was based on the principle of popular sovereignty, a concept not present in English common law, nor one that had yet been articulated in Liberal political theory. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Perry Miller, Errand in the Wilderness (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1956); and Stephen L. Schechter, Roots of the Republic: American Founding Documents Interpreted (Madison, WI: Madison House, 1990). Joseph R. MarbachLast updated: 2006 SEE ALSO: Articles of Confederation; State Constitutions; U.S. Constitution Was the Fundamental Orders the first constitution?Any discussion regarding the ideas used to create the US Constitution often begin with the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. As what is arguably the first written constitution in the Western world, the Fundamental Orders served as a model, first for other state constitutions, and then eventually for the nation.
Why is the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut considered a constitution?They wanted the government to have access to the open ocean for trading. The Orders have the features of a written constitution and are considered by some authors to be the first written Constitution in the Western tradition. Thus, Connecticut earned its nickname of The Constitution State.
What colony had the first true constitution the Fundamental Orders?In Hartford, Connecticut, the first constitution in the American colonies, the “Fundamental Orders,” is adopted by representatives of Wethersfield, Windsor, and Hartford. The Dutch discovered the Connecticut River in 1614, but English Puritans from Massachusetts largely accomplished European settlement of the region.
What was the first written constitution in the colonies?The Mayflower Compact—once called the “Plymouth Combination”—is the first constitution known to have been written in the New World. Drafted aboard the Mayflower before the Pilgrims from Holland and their fellow travelers landed in North America, it was signed on November 11, 1620, by the 41 men on the ship.
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Why is the fundamental orders considered by some to be the first constitution in the colonies?
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