Great question! Please send ideas of antecedents to all. Roger Mellen On 10/18/12 9:46 AM, Jon Kukla wrote: > Is anyone aware of scholarship that explores the antecedents of the 1776 > innovation of placing a declaration of rights at the beginning of a > constitution? > > > > We have long recognized the placement of a declaration of rights at the > beginning of a state constitution as an innovation dating from the Virginia > constitution of 1776, copied soon thereafter by Pennsylvania, Maryland, > Delaware, and North Carolina and then by Vermont in 1777, Massachusetts in > 1780, and New Hampshire in 1781 (e.g., Wood, Creation, 271). > > > > Looking closely at the Virginia convention, the idea of placing a > statement of rights at the beginning of a written constitution seems to > originate with Meriwether Lewis’s draft resolution for independence (ca. 14 > May 1776) – one of three resolutions (the others presented by Bartholomew > Dandridge and Patrick Henry) that the presiding officer, Edmund Pendleton, > consolidated into the final text calling for independence adopted on 15 May > 1776 and transmitted to Congress, etc. > > > > - Lewis’s language urged that “a Committee ought to prepare a > Declaration of Rights, and such a plan of *g*overnment as shall be > judged most proper to maintain Peace & Order in this Colony & secure > substantial and equal Liberty to the People.” (Van Schreeven, Scribner, > Tarter, eds. Revolutionary Virginia: 7: 145n8) > > > > - Pendleton’s revision directed that “a Committee be appointed to > prepare a Declaration of Rights, and such a plan of government as will be > most likely to maintain peace and order in this colony and secure > substantial and equal liberty to the people.” (Ibid., 143) > > > > In that context, I would be grateful for any citations to scholarship > exploring any advocacy prior to May 1776 of the placement of a declaration > of rights at the beginning of a constitution? > > > > Thank you. > > Jon Kukla > ________________ > www.JonKukla.com <http://www.jonkukla.com/> > > ______________________________________ > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html