Vermont Republic - Constitution and Frame of Government

Constitution and Frame of Government

The Constitution of Vermont was drafted and ratified at Elijah West's Windsor Tavern in 1777, and was the first written constitution for an independent state in North America. The settlers in Vermont, who sought independence from New York, justified their constitution on the same basis as the first state constitutions of the former colonies: authority is derived from the people. As historian Christian Fritz notes in American Sovereigns: The People and America's Constitutional Tradition before the Civil War:

They saw themselves as a distinct region outside the legitimate jurisdiction of New York. Possessing an identifiable population or "a people" entitled them to the same constitutional rights of self-government as other "Peoples" in the American confederacy.

In addition to creating a new government for the original thirteen colonies, the claims for Vermont's independence raised the question of creating state governments. At the same time as they struggled for independence from Great Britain, Americans had to confront just how that formation should take place and who constituted "the people".

The Vermont constitution was modeled after the radically democratic constitution of Pennsylvania on the suggestion of Dr. Young, who worked with Thomas Paine and others on that 1776 document in Philadelphia. It was the first constitution in the New World to outlaw slavery and allow all adult males to vote, regardless of property ownership.

During the time of the Vermont Republic, the government issued its own coinage and currency, and operated a postal service. The governor of Vermont, Thomas Chittenden, with consent of his council and the unicameral General Assembly, appointed commissioners to the American government seated in Philadelphia.

After a British regiment and allied Mohawks attacked and terrorized Vermont settlers, in the Royalton Raid, Ethan Allen led a group of Vermont politicians in secret discussions with Frederick Haldimand, the Governor General of the Province of Quebec, about rejoining the British Empire. The discussions ended after the Treaty of Paris concluded the Revolutionary War.

Though Vermont had declared its independence in 1777, it was not admitted into the United States until 1791, in part due to ongoing border disputes with New York. Vermont eventually agreed to pay 30,000 Spanish milled dollars to resolve New York's remaining land claims in the territory.