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The Massachusetts Constitution remains the oldest, functioning, written Constitution in the world. It was not as easy as most people think. In 1777, the General Court resolved itself into a Constitutional Convention, proposed a Constitution, put it to the people for a vote and it was defeated 9,972 to 2,083. The main issue was that rights for the citizens were not included. Essex County had convened a Constitutional Convention in Ipswich, referred to as “The Essex Result” which started by stating that a Constitution should be focused on popular sovereignty and natural rights, which had highlighted this discrepancy. This all resulted in a change of format. The people would vote on the delegates to represent them in a new Constitutional Convention. During this time, Massachusetts favorite son, John Adams had returned from Europe. This all resulted in a new Constitution being proposed and accepted on June 15th, 1780.
In the first paragraph of the Preamble to the Massachusetts Constitution, the citizens are given the right to alter Government. It was not until 1917 when the people were rising up against the corporate overlords and invisible government, that a Constitutional Convention was called for. The Initiative and Referendum amendment was a result, which finally gave the citizens the vehicle to alter their Government, which we are using to try to take back control of our lives.

story.txt · Last modified: 2018/07/23 11:49 (external edit)