Editing American Revolution (section)

==Creating new state constitutions==
{{Main|State constitution (United States)}}
Following the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]] in June 1775, the Patriots had control of [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts]] outside [[Boston]]'s city limits, and the Loyalists suddenly found themselves on the defensive with no protection from the British army. In each of the Thirteen Colonies, American patriots overthrew their existing governments, closed courts, and drove out British colonial officials. They held elected conventions and established [[Provincial Congress|their own legislatures]], which existed outside any legal parameters established by the British. New constitutions were drawn up in each state to supersede royal charters. They proclaimed that they were now ''[[Sovereign state|states]]'', no longer ''[[Colony|colonies]]''.<ref name = "Pole-ch29">Nevins (1927); Greene and Pole (1991) chapter 29</ref>

On January 5, 1776, [[Province of New Hampshire|New Hampshire]] ratified the first state constitution. In May 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]], [[Province of South Carolina|South Carolina]], and [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] created their constitutions before July 4. [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]] and [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]] simply took their existing [[royal charter]]s and deleted all references to the crown.<ref>Nevins (1927)</ref> The new states were all committed to republicanism, with no inherited offices. On May 26, 1776, [[John Adams]] wrote James Sullivan from [[Philadelphia]] warning against extending [[the franchise]] too far:

{{blockquote|Depend upon it, sir, it is dangerous to open so fruitful a source of controversy and altercation, as would be opened by attempting to alter the qualifications of voters. There will be no end of it. New claims will arise. Women will demand a vote. Lads from twelve to twenty one will think their rights not enough attended to, and every man, who has not a farthing, will demand an equal voice with any other in all acts of state. It tends to confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks, to one common level[.]<ref>''Founding the Republic: A Documentary History'', edited by John J. Patrick</ref><ref>''Reason, Religion, and Democracy'', Dennis C. Muelle. p. 206</ref>}}

The resulting constitutions in states, including those of [[Constitution of Delaware|Delaware]], [[Constitution of Maryland|Maryland]], [[Constitution of Massachusetts|Massachusetts]], [[Constitution of New York|New York]], and [[Constitution of Virginia|Virginia]]{{Efn|Massachusetts' constitution is still in force in the 21st century, continuously since its ratification on June 15, 1780}} featured:
* Property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications)<ref name = "Pole-ch29"/>
* [[Bicameral legislature]]s, with the upper house as a check on the lower
* Strong [[governor]]s with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority
* Few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government
* The continuation of [[Established church|state-established religion]]

In [[Constitution of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], [[Constitution of New Jersey|New Jersey]], and [[Constitution of New Hampshire|New Hampshire]], the resulting constitutions embodied:
* universal manhood suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey enfranchised some property-owning widows, a step that it retracted 25 years later)
* strong, [[Unicameralism|unicameral legislatures]]
* relatively weak governors without veto powers, and with little appointing authority
* prohibition against individuals holding multiple government posts

The radical provisions of [[Pennsylvania]]'s constitution lasted 14 years. In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution. The new constitution substantially reduced universal male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature. [[Thomas Paine]] called it a constitution unworthy of America.<ref name="Wood, 1992">Wood, ''The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' (1992)</ref>