The Politics of Massachusetts
The Constitution
Drafted in 1779, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the oldest functioning written constitution in the world. Drafted by none other than John and Samuel Adams, along with John Bowdoin, it served as a model for our own nation's Constitution. It features a structure, composed of chapters, sections and articles, vastly more organized than any other state constitution of its time. Within this document, rights of the citizens, and the framework of the states' government is outlined. While it has changed over the years, it manages to paint a picture of the inner workings of Massachusetts politics.
Some remarkable features in Massachusetts' Constitution are ideas which were revolutionary at the time. Guided echoing the ideas of the Enlightenment, the document ensures the freedom and equality for all men. In fact, in Article I it ensures that "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness." This very article led to the freedom of two former slaves. Both Elizabeth Freeman, and Quock Walker, sued their masters, citing the right to freedom entitled in the Constitution. Winning their cases, Massachusetts outlawed slavery, effectively becoming one of the first states in the US to abolish slavery.
The document, ensuring the happiness of its people, also calls for the protection of religion and bodies of moral nature. Originally being founded as a safe haven for Puritans and Pilgrims, the Commonwealth believed in t...
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...ng "an individualistic political culture with a strong moralistic streak." (Duquette) This means that the we in Massachusetts view politics, and the economy, as a way to compete to better one's social and economic life. While the moralist side believes in the importance of public service, and use of politics to better the lives of the citizens.
This has led to a system in which candidates are elected on the basis of whether or not they could win, instead of whether or not they have a strong ideology. In contrast, candidates with strong ideologies are perceived to be too extreme from core American values that could guarantee a vote. Instead of party loyalty, one studying the Massachusetts political system should take into account the strong demographic nature of the state. The political culture that shaped Massachusetts still has a major impact in today's Bay State.
The United States Constitution is a national government that consist of citizen’s basic rights and fundamental laws. This document was signed on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia by the majority of representatives. Today, the United States Constitution’s purpose is to supply a strong central government. However, before the United States Constitution was developed, many citizens did not support the constitution due to the fact that they found it contradicting and detached from the original goals of the Declaration of Independence. These citizens were known as anti-federalists. Fortunately, George Washington was a supporter of the constitution and had an enormous impact in the public support of the constitution. With a few adjustments, some
...Many rights that Massachusetts had were taken away like how they had to have restrictions on town meetings.
A Democratic Party long ruled by moderates and conservatives succeeded in stunting what seemed like the natural growth of a successful Republican Party until the 1990s. Since then, various forces have contributed to the growth of the Republicans, and in the end, to an altering of the core membership of each party. Most recently, the state has seen the development of a dominant Republican Party that doesn't yet hold quite the dominion the Democrats enjoyed through most of the twentieth century. The Republican Party has certainly benefited from the defection of former Democrats, the arrival of Republicans and independents from out of state, and organizational difficulties in the Democratic Party. Thus, Republican officials dominate state government, and Democrats find themselves reduced, for the present, to the status of an embattled minority party seeking to recreate themselves among their voting and financial constituencies. This is showing that the newfound Republican dominance can be the beginning of a new strong party system, or if we are in a state of transition in which the terms of political competition are still in change. If it is a new party system, I don’t think it will be very durable or last too long for that matter. Now, it seems that Republican dominance of state government will
When America was founded in 1776, political factions were far less distinctively partisan than they are today. They more closely represented conservative and liberal sides of the political spectrum. Men ran for political office, holding their beliefs as their flag, not the party they belonged to. Unfortunately, this method did not last long. By the late 1820s, a strong party system had developed. However, there was still one group opposed to the party system, the Whig Party. Its history shaped the ideals it valued. Regrettably, the Whig Party’s short lifespan affected the national political conversation forever. The Whig Party’s interesting history and tragic demise are important to understanding the political system of the United States.
The Constitution is the foundation of our county it represents liberty and justice for all. We are able to live freely and do, as we desire because of the constitution. The constitution was, signed September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It took time and many debates were held before an agreement was achieved in both the drafting and ratification of the constitution. These disagreements came with several compromises before the constitution was fully ratified on May 29, 1790, with Rhode Island being the last and the thirteenth. The First, challenge was the Articles of Confederation; it was a sort of a draft of the Constitution but was weak and inadequate. Second, obstacle was the Anti-Federalists fight for more
consisted of several different advantages and disadvantages to the lives of the followers. In the 1630s a group of english Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay conformed to a self government, that was extremely religious. The lives of the participants were intensely moral and theoretical. In the Massachusetts Bay it was known as a mens world, correlating women had zero participation in town meetings, or in new church rules. “Puritans ministers furthered male supremacy in their writings and sermons. They preached that the soul had two parts, the immortal masculine half, and the mortal feminine half”(Independence Hall Association). Man lived a life of thriving
For a document written in a mere one hundred and sixteen days, it is quite amazing that the United States Constitution still plays an integral role in the government. However, this document, like many important governing papers, has come with controversies and arguments since its establishment as a set of principles with which to govern states. The Constitution of the United States, created in 1787, arose from a need of a new document after the Articles of Confederation that could assert more control over the states. A product of the Constitutional convention, the Constitution laid out the framework for a popular government with checks and balances as well as a separation of powers. Since the Constitution is a relatively short document given
The document I chose to write about is the United States Constitution. When the thirteen British colonies in North America declared their independence in 1776, they laid down that “governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The “colonies” had to establish a government, which would be the framework for the United States. The purpose of a written constitution is to define and therefore more specifically limit government powers. After the Articles of Confederation failed to work in the 13 colonies, the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787.
The constitution is still to this day effective, it was the last constitution to be established. In 1778, the Massachusetts General court drafted a constitution and submitted it to their voters, but it was rejected because it did not provide the separation of power and did not mention anything about an individual 's rights. Then in 1779, John Adam, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin created a new constitution. Being ratified by male voters that were 21 or older, the Massachusetts constitution was practiced in
In creating the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including a rather defensive reaction, but also an understanding reaction. As a document that provided the laws of the land and the rights of its people. It directs its attention to the many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document lent itself to several views and interpretations, depending upon the individual reading it. It is clear that the founders’ perspectives as white, wealthy or elite class, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution.
America and more specifically, the Framers of the Constitution, recognized that they were in a unique position. They had the opportunity to write history by drafting a document that would create a system of government and a country that had never been conceived before. With this responsibility in mind, they drafted the Constitution, which unified the Colonies into one single country and created a federalist governmental system (Cummings 2015, 85). Despite these advances, the Constitution remained grounded in the values of the Declaration and had provisions embedded within it that the Framers hoped would safeguard against the injustices and tyranny suffered under Britain from being repeated again in their new republic (Cummings 2015, 85). This paper will explore this relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the unamended Constitution of 1787 by examining the texts of both documents, along with ideas of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. This will reveal that the Constitution attempted to create a system of government that was consistent with the principles of the Declaration of
Much of society is categorized into groups, subcultures and/or subspecies; Politics is much the same. While many different political parties have arose throughout history and had their major moments, two common parties stand out today in the United States political system. America’s government is comprised of ideals and paradigms that date back to the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece. The leading political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are two separate yet similar entities that run the country’s government from the inside and out. The actions each politician takes effects the very world we live in. These parties share many similarities, many differences, and because of this a polarization of parties has dominated the day to day activities of Capitol Hill and the White House.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Commentators have lamented for years now regarding the polarized states of America. Pundits inform us that Not since the days of Reconstruction has the country experienced the amount of vitriol, misunderstanding, and resentment from political differences. While numerous people have witnessed and discussed this saddening occurrence, few have delved into how this phenomenon arose and what stakes it holds for our future. Instead, political minded people have droned on about more policy, for for too many, legislative victory is all that matters (unfortunately).
The United States Constitution is arguably considered one of the nation’s most influential documents in America’s history. This centuries old document has not only guided the United States to becoming a successful society, but has also helped other nations in the forming of their own governments. Although, there has recently been a great deal of controversy as to whether the Constitution is still valued today. America has changed greatly in the time since the Constitution was first ratified, it is argued that the older views of the Constitution don’t necessarily reflect the views of today’s society. When the Constitution was created the delegates understood that there would be problems as the young
In the year 1630 during the reign of King Charles the first, Puritans came to the New World. The first group of Puritans to land in New England, led by John Winthrop, traveled overseas to form a new, pure church and have religious freedom their way. The Puritans started out with just nine hundred people, but quickly grew to over twenty thousand. They began by settling in Boston, Massachusetts, forming the Massachusetts Bay Colony, an economically successful colony. They soon spread to form and settle Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Their religious beliefs had an extreme influence on the development of New England and played its part in creating one of the first forms of democracy in the New World. John Winthrop wanted himself