(Vermont) | The three-branch government structure introduced

(Vermont)

The Constitution of Vermont. As Adopted by the Convention, holden at Windsor, July Fourth, One thousand seven hundred and ninety-three. Windsor: Printed by Alden Spooner, 1793

8vo (212 x 145 mm). Half-title, decorative woodcut headpieces; faint dampstaining, minor spotting. Disbound. In custom folding slipcase and chemise.

First printing of Vermont's constitution of 1793.

Vermont had adopted two previous constitutions as an independent commonwealth: one in 1777, and another in 1786. The present constitution represents Vermont's first as a state, and, with some amendments, remains in effect to this day. The two chapters in this constitution—a bill of rights, and the "Plan or Frame of Government"—are largely drawn from the 1777 document, prefiguring the U.S. Constitution. Significantly, a bill of rights, a second thought, so to speak, in the U.S. Constitution, was present from Vermont's beginnings. Additionally, Vermont's institution of a three-branch government structure predated the national system by several years.

REFERENCE

ESTC W8523; Evans 26378; Sabin 99013