The Fundamental Orders
On January 14, 1639, the Fundamental Orders were adopted in Connecticut. This document has often been referred to as the world’s first written constitution. At the urging of influential preacher Thomas Hooker, the Connecticut legislative body, or General Court, began secret committee meetings to discuss the drafting of the orders in June 1638. The Council completed its efforts by the beginning of 1639 and shortly thereafter the Fundamental Orders became the cornerstone of government in Connecticut.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Connecticut Constitution
Famous quotes containing the words fundamental and/or orders:
“When we walk the streets at night in safety, it does not strike us that this might be otherwise. This habit of feeling safe has become second nature, and we do not reflect on just how this is due solely to the working of special institutions. Commonplace thinking often has the impression that force holds the state together, but in fact its only bond is the fundamental sense of order which everybody possesses.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“I’ve got orders to obey, thank God.”
—Robert Bolt (1924–1995)