Which features of the Massachusetts constitution later influenced the writers of the US Constitution?

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Massachusetts Constitution
Preamble
Part the First:
Articles I - XXX
Part the Second:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Articles of Amendment

The Massachusetts Constitution is the fundamental governing document of the state of Massachusetts.

Features

The Massachusetts Constitution is often referred to as the oldest state constitution in continuous effect.[1]

The Massachusetts Constitution contains four parts: a preamble, a declaration of rights, a description of the framework of government in six chapters and articles of amendment.[1]

As a result of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1917 - 1919, it was re-codified through the incorporation of 66 previously approved amendments.[2]

Background

• The current (and first) Massachusetts Constitution was adopted on October 25, 1780.[3]
• The current constitution has been amended 119 times.[3]
• The most recent amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, Question 1 and Question 2, were approved by voters in 2000.
• Massachusetts features a process for indirect initiated constitutional amendments. This process requires a signature petition and then approval by 25 percent of the state's legislature in two different joint legislative sessions. Constitutional amendments can also be put on the ballot in Massachusetts through LRCAs or a constitutional convention.

Preamble

The preamble of the Massachusetts Constitution, in its last paragraph, mirrors the preamble of the United States Constitution.

Part the First: "Declaration of the Rights"

Part the First of the Massachusetts Constitution is entitled "A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." Known as a bill of rights, it identifies the origin and purpose of all legitimate government. It contains 30 sections.

Section 1 of Part the First begins by stating:

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Part the Second: "Frame of Government"

This part consists of the remaining six chapters of the constitution that describe the powers of the bicameral legislature, the governor, his advisory council and the judiciary. Other provisions honor Harvard College, detail oaths of office and encourage the study of the liberal and useful arts to inculcate civic and private virtues.[1]

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Chapter I

Chapter I of the Massachusetts Constitution is entitled "The Legislative Power."

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Chapter II

Chapter II of the Massachusetts Constitution is entitled "Executive Power."

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Chapter III

Chapter III of the Massachusetts Constitution is entitled "Judiciary Power" and consists of five articles.

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Chapter IV

Chapter IV of the Massachusetts Constitution is entitled "Delegates to Congress." It has a single section.

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Chapter V

Chapter V of the Massachusetts Constitution is entitled "The University at Cambridge, and Encouragement of Literature, Etc."

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Chapter VI

Chapter VI of the Massachusetts Constitution is entitled "Oaths and Subscriptions; Incompatibility of and Exclusion from Offices; Pecuniary Qualifications; Commissions; Writs; Confirmation of Laws; Habeas Corpus; The Enacting Style; Continuance of Officers; Provision for a Future Revisal of the Constitution, Etc." and consists of 11 sections.

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Articles of Amendment

The section titled "Articles of Amendment" detail the various amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution.

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Amending the constitution

The process of amending the Massachusetts Constitution is governed by Article XLVIII, Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, which is itself the 48th amendment to the state's constitution.

Article 48 allows the constitution to be amended through indirect initiative amendments. It imposes a number of restrictions on such proposed amendments:

• Petitions that relate to "religion, religious practices or religious institutions" are prohibited.
• Petitions that relate to the "appointment, qualification, tenure, removal, recall or compensation of judges" are prohibited.
• Petitions that would reverse judicial decisions are prohibited.
• Petitions relating to the "powers, creation or abolition of courts" are prohibited.
• Petitions that apply only to "a particular town, city or other political division or to particular districts or localities of the commonwealth" are prohibited.
• Petitions that would make "a specific appropriation of money from the treasury of the commonwealth" are prohibited.
• Any petition relating to Amendment 18 is prohibited through citizen initiative; however, Amendment 18 was altered through other paths.
• Petitions "inconsistent with" a list of "rights of the individual" are prohibited; those rights include:

• "The right to receive compensation for private property appropriated to public use."
• "The right of access to and protection in courts of justice."
• "The right of trial by jury."
• "Protection from unreasonable search unreasonable bail and the law martial."
• "Freedom of the press."
• "Freedom of elections."
• "The right of peaceable assembly."

• The sections of the constitution that prohibit various matters from being taken up by citizen initiative are also, themselves, prohibited from change through the process.
• Petitions that are "substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state elections" are prohibited.

The state's general court plays a significant role in the process for an initiated constitutional amendment in Massachusetts:

• The Massachusetts General Court is allowed to refer an alternative substitute measure to the ballot to compete with the proposed citizen initiative.
• The state legislature is allowed to amend the text of an initiated constitutional amendment through a three-fourths vote in joint session.
• In two successive legislative sessions, 25 percent of the members of the Massachusetts General Court must support the proposed amendment in order for it to go on the ballot. There are 200 legislators altogether—40 in the Massachusetts State Senate and 160 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives—so a proposed amendment must earn 50 positive votes. The proposed amendment does not need to earn a 25 percent vote from both chambers, but, rather, from a joint session. This means, for example, that if 50 members of the state house voted in favor of an amendment, it would require no support from any state senator to qualify for the ballot.

The Massachusetts General Court may also legislatively refer constitutional amendments. This procedure is defined in Section 1 to 3 of Article LXXXI of the Massachusetts Constitution. According to that section:

• Amendments may be proposed by either house of the Massachusetts General Court.
• Consideration of the amendment in a joint session may be called for by a vote of either house no later than the second Wednesday in May.
• Proposed amendments must receive majority approval (50% + 1) two successive joint legislative sessions to be placed on the ballot.
• If any such proposed amendment is approved by a simple majority of voters and by at least 30 percent of people voting in that election, the amendment is adopted.

The Massachusetts Constitution can also be changed through a constitutional convention and subsequent ratification from the voters.

There have been four constitutional conventions in Massachusetts:

• From 1779–80. This led to the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution, which is the oldest state constitution continuously in effect.
• From 1820–21. This convention yielded the Articles of Amendment, 1-9.
• 1853. This convention led to a proposal for an entirely new constitution and seven proposed amendments. They were submitted to a vote of the people, and they all lost.
• 1917–19. This constitution proposed 22 amendments and a revised draft of the existing constitution. Voters approved all these proposals.

History

The people of Massachusetts held a special convention in 1780 where elected delegates met to debate the eventual framework for Massachusetts' new state government.[5] A constitution was submitted for popular approval, requiring a two-thirds vote for final approval and codifying a social compact. It took four years to create a state constitution that the people of Massachusetts could ratify.[6]

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

• Massachusetts State Legislature, "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts"

Footnotes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Heritage Foundation, "Massachusetts Constitution," accessed March 28, 2014
2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named green
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Massachusetts Legislature, "Massachusetts Constitution," accessed April 28, 2015
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Massachusetts State Legislature, "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," accessed March 28, 2014
5. ↑ U.S. History, "State Constitutions," accessed March 28, 2014
6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named law

v • e Massachusetts Constitution
Massachusetts Constitution	Preamble • Part the First • Part the Second • Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6
Amendments	Articles I-X • Articles XI-XX • Articles XXI-XXX • Articles XXXI-XLVII • Article XLVIII • Articles XLIX-LX • Articles LXI-LXX • Articles LXXI-LXXX • Articles LXXXI-XC • Articles XCI-C • Articles CI-CX • Articles CXI-CXX

v • e State constitutions of the United States
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