Massachusetts | First printing of the first Massachusetts state constitution

Massachusetts 

A Constitution or Frame of Government, Agreed upon by the Delegates of the People of the State of Massachusetts-Bay, in Convention, Begun and Held at Cambridge on the First of September, 1779, and Continued by Adjournments to the Second of March, 1780. Boston: Benjamin Edes & Sons, 1780

8vo (208 x 122 mm). Half-title; some foxing and offsetting, quire C seemingly supplied at an early date, some dampstaining to quire C. Disbound. In custom slipcase and folding chemise. 

First printing of the first Massachusetts State Constitution. 

Largely authored by John Adams, the present constitution was composed after a previous version had been voted down the year before. Considered to be one of Adams's finest works, the constitution begins with "A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," which includes freedom of the press, as well as protection from unreasonable searches. It also outlines the function and reaches of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.  

A formative document that proved to be of great importance in the framing of subsequent state constitutions.

REFERENCE:

ESTC W15133; Evans 16844; Sabin 45691