Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

E33524

colonial constitution foundational legal document historical document

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were a 1639 colonial constitution that established a representative government and are often regarded as one of the first written frameworks for democracy in what became the United States.

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Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
Fundamental Orders of 1639	1
constitution of Connecticut Colony	1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	colonial constitution ⓘ foundational legal document ⓘ historical document ⓘ
appliesTo	Hartford ⓘ Wethersfield, Connecticut ⓘ surface form: Wethersfield Windsor ⓘ
appliesToJurisdiction	Connecticut Colony ⓘ
country	Connecticut Colony ⓘ
dateAdopted	1639-01-14 ⓘ
defines	powers of the General Court ⓘ procedures for elections ⓘ terms of office for magistrates ⓘ voting procedures for freemen ⓘ
describedAs	early framework for democracy in what became the United States ⓘ one of the first written constitutions in the American colonies ⓘ
draftedBy	representatives of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield ⓘ
established	Connecticut General Court ⓘ surface form: General Court of Connecticut framework for self-government ⓘ representative government in Connecticut Colony ⓘ system of elected magistrates ⓘ
field	constitutional law ⓘ political history of the United States ⓘ
governs	civil affairs of Connecticut River towns ⓘ
grants	voting rights to freemen of the towns ⓘ
hasCharacteristic	early expression of constitutionalism in America ⓘ framework for democratic practices among colonists ⓘ written framework of government ⓘ
hasEffect	increased political participation among settlers ⓘ limited powers of colonial government officials ⓘ
hasLegalStatus	Fundamental Orders of Connecticut self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: constitution of Connecticut Colony
inception	1639 ⓘ
influenced	Connecticut state constitution ⓘ development of written constitutions in America ⓘ later colonial charters ⓘ
influencedBy	Puritan political thought ⓘ covenant theology ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
locationOfAdoption	Hartford ⓘ
partOf	constitutional history of the United States ⓘ history of Connecticut ⓘ
preservedIn	Connecticut State Library ⓘ
prohibits	governor from serving consecutive terms ⓘ
regulates	election of governor ⓘ election of magistrates ⓘ sessions of the General Court ⓘ
replacedBy	Connecticut Charter of 1662 ⓘ
setsMinimumAgeForGovernor	31 ⓘ
yearAdopted	1639 ⓘ

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Thomas Hooker → associatedWithDocument → Fundamental Orders of Connecticut ⓘ

Connecticut General Court → basedOn → Fundamental Orders of Connecticut ⓘ

New England political institutions → basedOn → Fundamental Orders of Connecticut ⓘ

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut → hasLegalStatus → Fundamental Orders of Connecticut self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: constitution of Connecticut Colony

Connecticut Colony → legalDocument → Fundamental Orders of Connecticut ⓘ

Connecticut Charter of 1662 → predecessor → Fundamental Orders of Connecticut ⓘ

Connecticut Charter of 1662 → relatedTo → Fundamental Orders of Connecticut ⓘ

this entity surface form: Fundamental Orders of 1639