Kentucky Constitution - The 1792 Constitution

The 1792 Constitution

The first constitutional convention of Kentucky was called by Colonel Benjamin Logan on December 27, 1784 in Danville, the capital of Kentucky County, Virginia. Over the next eight years, a total of ten constitutional conventions were called, each making some progress toward a viable constitution. The state's first constitution was accepted by the United States Congress on June 1, 1792, making Kentucky the fifteenth state.

The 1792 Constitution had several similarities to the United States Constitution in that it provided for three branches of government – legislative, executive, and judicial – and a bicameral legislature called the General Assembly. The document contained a bill of rights, and called for an electoral college to elect senators and the state's governor. (Representatives were chosen by popular election.)

Some relatively new ideas were included in the 1792 Constitution. One was the stipulation that the General Assembly vote by ballot instead of voice. There was also a requirement that representation to the General Assembly be based on population, not geography.

The 1792 Constitution was seen as an experiment called for a re-evaluation of the document at the end of the century.