State Governments (College Board AP® US History)
Study Guide
Written by: Kristin Marciniak
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Timeline
Summary
The first priority after declaring independence from Great Britain was to create independent, democratic governments to replace the colonial governments put in place by the British. The former colonists knew they wanted to uphold republican ideals and ensure that most of the power stayed in the hands of the people. In most cases, this meant the creation of powerful legislative branches and less powerful executive and judicial branches of government.
Structure and Rights
After declaring the 13 colonies independent from Great Britain, the Second Continental Congress instructed political leaders from each colony to write a state constitution
Some colonies already had new constitutions
It was important that each constitution be written down in a single place
Great Britain did not have a formal constitution. Its government structure and list of rights were spread across several documents
Political leaders did not want one person or group to have too much power
They did not want to be ruled by another monarch or an all-powerful legislative body again
Having only a governor seemed risky
The first state constitutions were designed to:
keep most of the power in the hands of the people
have a checks and balances system
Most state governments
had three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial
set up bicameral legislatures
Legislative branches were the most powerful branches
State constitutions usually limited governors’ powers
Judges were often selected by legislators, the governor, or both working together
Voters chose legislators
At the time, only men aged 21 or over who owned property or paid a certain amount of taxes were considered citizens and eligible to vote
Some states allowed free Black men to vote
Examiner Tips and Tricks
One common misconception about freedom and rights after the Revolutionary War is who was considered an American citizen. Patriots argued that people had the natural right to take part in a government that makes the laws that affect them. They said they did not want titles of nobility and that a person should be judged on their talents and contributions, not their parentage. Thomas Jefferson even wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal”.
Those are the ideals on which the United States was built, but they were not the reality of the time. All men — and all people — were not equal in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. White men who owned property and were over the age of 21 were the only “true” citizens of the United States. They held all the voting power. They were guaranteed rights by state and federal constitutions.
The break from British rule changed the governmental structure of the former colonies. It did not do anything to change the values and deeply rooted cultural beliefs of a White, patriarchal society. Those changes would take decades, if not an entire century.
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