Editing Constitution (section)

====British colonies in North America====
In 1639, the [[Colony of Connecticut]] adopted the [[Fundamental Orders of Connecticut|Fundamental Orders]], which was the first [[North America]]n constitution. It is the basis for every new Connecticut constitution since, and is also the reason for [[Connecticut]]'s nickname, "the [[Constitution State]]".

All of the British colonies in North America that were to become the 13 original United States, adopted their own constitutions in 1776 and 1777, during the American Revolution (and before the later [[Articles of Confederation]] and [[United States Constitution]]), with the exceptions of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The [[Massachusetts|Commonwealth of Massachusetts]] adopted [[Constitution of Massachusetts|its Constitution]] in 1780, the oldest still-functioning constitution of any U.S. state; while Connecticut and Rhode Island officially continued to operate under their old colonial charters, until they adopted their first state constitutions in 1818 and 1843, respectively.