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The lesson explains how early constitutions reflected democratic republican principles while avoiding drastic breaks from colonial and English practice. It details declarations and bills of rights, including popular sovereignty, election freedom, press and conscience protections, and due process, plus a three-branch checks-and-balances system. It also highlights key limitations, especially exclusion of equality and suffrage restrictions.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/state-constitutions-early-american-state-bill-of-rights-liberties-and-government-structure/611931/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/state-constitutions-early-american-state-bill-of-rights-liberties-and-government-structure/611931.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Noah","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-10-19",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What was the main purpose of framers when creating early state constitutions?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"They aimed to secure unalienable rights, whose violation had driven former colonies to reject Britain. Most constitutions therefore began with a declaration or bill of rights.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which rights and liberties were commonly included in early state constitutions?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Many included popular sovereignty, rotation in office, freedom of elections, and lists of fundamental liberties such as press and conscience. Other provisions could include speech, assembly, petition, habeas corpus, domicile protections, and equal protection under law.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What limitations did the state constitutions have?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"They often failed to secure equality for everyone and excluded enslaved people and women from basic political rights. Even where broader voting was allowed, requirements such as property ownership limited participation.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},611931,1792650926,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":14,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":24,"preview_page_count":4},8796095462418,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/80000253c1241d02b47?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778826106357471780","Name:   Date:   Class:    \nState Constitutions  \nThe success of the Revolution gave Americans the opportunity to give legal form to their ideals as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and to remedy some of their grievances through state constitutions. As early as May 10, 1776, Congress had passed a resolution advising the colonies to form new governments \"such as shall best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents.\" Some of them had already done so, and within a year after the Declaration of Independence, all but three had drawn up constitutions.  \nThe new constitutions showed the impact of democratic ideas. None made any drastic break with the past, since all were built on the solid foundation of colonial experience and English practice. But each was also animated by the spirit of republicanism, an ideal that had long been praised by Enlightenment philosophers.  \nNaturally, the first objective of the framers of the state constitutions was to secure those \"unalienable rights\" whose violation had caused the former colonies to repudiate their connection with Britain. Thus, each constitution began with a declaration or bill of rights. Virginia's, which served as a model for all the others, included a declaration of principles: popular  \nsovereignty, rotation in office, freedom of elections, and an enumeration of fundamental liberties: moderate bail and humane punishment, speedy trial by jury,  \nfreedom of the press and of conscience, and the right of the majority to reform or alter the government.  \nOther states enlarged the list of liberties to freedom of speech, of assembly, and of petition. Their constitutions frequently included such provisions as the right to bear arms, to a writ of habeas corpus, to inviolability of domicile, and to equal protection under the law. Moreover, all prescribed a three-branch structure of government – executive, legislative, and judiciary – each checked and balanced by the others. Pennsylvania's constitution was the most radical. In that state, Philadelphia artisans, Scots-Irish frontiersmen, and German-speaking farmers had taken control. The provincial congress adopted a constitution that permitted every male taxpayer and his sons to vote, required rotation in office (no one could serve as a representative more than four years out of every seven), and set up a single-chamber legislature.  \nThe state constitutions had some glaring limitations, particularly by more recent standards. Constitutions established to guarantee people their natural rights did not secure for everyone the most fundamental natural right – equality. The colonies south of Pennsylvania excluded their slave populations from their inalienable rights as human beings. Women had no political rights. No state went so far as to  \nFree K-12 Worksheets and More [www.STUDENTHANDOUTS.com](www.STUDENTHANDOUTS.com)  \nName:   Date:   Class:    \npermit universal male suffrage, and even in those states that permitted all taxpayers to vote (Delaware, North Carolina, and Georgia, in addition to Pennsylvania), office-holders were required to own a certain amount of property.  \n1. By July, 1777,   colonies (states) had written constitutions.  \na. 4  \nb. 7  \nc. 10  \nd. 13  \n2. Which of the following fundamental rights and liberties was not included in early state constitutions?  \na. Freedom of the press  \nb. Humane punishment  \nc. Speedy trial by jury  \nd. Universal suffrage  \n3. Which state’s constitution was the most radical?  \na. Massachusetts  \nb. New York  \nc. Pennsylvania  \nd. Virginia  \n4. State constitutions granted universal male suffrage.  \na. True  \nb. False  \n5. What groups were not granted fundamental liberties, such as suffrage? How would you have reacted, had you been a member of such a group?  \n\n|  |\n| --- |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n\nF  \nS  \nB  \nH  \nK  \nQ  \nS  \nR  \nT  \nA  \nS  \nY  \nV  \nC  \nH  \nU  \nC  \nS  \nL  \nY  \nP  \nF  \nV  \nD  \nU  \nM  \nN  \nI  \nR  \nC  \nV  \nT  \nN  \nU  \nK  \nW  \nJ  \nA  \nA  \nA  ","cbCaig3gzRcx1PpB","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaig3gzRcx1PpB","pdf",81821,"English","# State Constitutions\n## Purpose and Democratic Republicanism\n## Bill of Rights and Fundamental Liberties\n## Government Structure and Limitations\n## Review Questions","[{\"question\":\"What was the main purpose of framers when creating early state constitutions?\",\"answer\":\"They aimed to secure unalienable rights, whose violation had driven former colonies to reject Britain. Most constitutions therefore began with a declaration or bill of rights.\"},{\"question\":\"Which rights and liberties were commonly included in early state constitutions?\",\"answer\":\"Many included popular sovereignty, rotation in office, freedom of elections, and lists of fundamental liberties such as press and conscience. Other provisions could include speech, assembly, petition, habeas corpus, domicile protections, and equal protection under law.\"},{\"question\":\"What limitations did the state constitutions have?\",\"answer\":\"They often failed to secure equality for everyone and excluded enslaved people and women from basic political rights. Even where broader voting was allowed, requirements such as property ownership limited participation.\"}]","State Constitutions - Early American State Bill of Rights, Liberties, and Government Structure | PDF",1792382456]