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2. Massachusetts 1787 Constitutional Convention, Hallowell
3. Massachusetts 1787 Governor
4. Massachusetts 1787 Lieutenant Governor
5. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Barnstable County
6. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Berkshire County
7. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Bristol County
8. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Cumberland County
9. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties
10. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties
11. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Essex County
12. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Essex County
13. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Hampshire County
14. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Hampshire County
15. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Lincoln County
16. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Middlesex County
17. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Middlesex County
18. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Plymouth County
19. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Plymouth County
20. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Suffolk County
21. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Suffolk County
22. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Worcester County
23. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Worcester County
24. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, York County
25. Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, York County
26. Massachusetts 1788 Constitutional Convention
27. Massachusetts 1788 Governor
28. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Bernardston and Leyden
29. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Boston
30. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Boston, Special
31. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Braintree
32. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Brookline
33. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Charlemont
34. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Falmouth
35. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Fitchburg
36. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Oakham
37. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Watertown
38. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Weston
39. Massachusetts 1788 House of Representatives, Worcester
40. Massachusetts 1788 Lieutenant Governor
41. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Barnstable County
42. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Berkshire County
43. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Bristol County
44. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Cumberland County
45. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties
46. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Essex County
47. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Hampshire County
48. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Lincoln County
49. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Middlesex County
50. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Plymouth County
51. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Suffolk County
52. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, Worcester County
53. Massachusetts 1788 State Senate, York County
54. Massachusetts 1789 Governor
55. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Bernardston and Leyden
56. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Boston
57. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Boston, Ballot 2
58. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Boston, Ballot 3
59. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Braintree
60. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Brookline
61. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Charlemont
62. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Chatham
63. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Falmouth
64. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Fitchburg
65. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Oakham
66. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Tisbury
67. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Watertown
68. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Weston
69. Massachusetts 1789 House of Representatives, Worcester
70. Massachusetts 1789 Lieutenant Governor
71. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Barnstable County
72. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Berkshire County
73. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Bristol County
74. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Cumberland County
75. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties
76. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Essex County
77. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Hampshire County
78. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Lincoln County
79. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Middlesex County
80. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Plymouth County
81. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Suffolk County
82. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, Worcester County
83. Massachusetts 1789 State Senate, York County
84. Massachusetts 1790 Governor
85. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Boston
86. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Boston, Ballot 2
87. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Braintree
88. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Brookline
89. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Charlemont
90. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Chatham
91. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Falmouth
92. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Fitchburg
93. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Oakham
94. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Tisbury
95. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Watertown
96. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Weston
97. Massachusetts 1790 House of Representatives, Worcester
98. Massachusetts 1790 Lieutenant Governor
99. Massachusetts 1790 State Senate, Barnstable County
100. Massachusetts 1790 State Senate, Berkshire County
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With independence from Great Britain in 1776, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was governed by the same bicameral legislature that existed during the colonial period. It was not until 1780 that John Adams, armed with a statewide mandate for a constitutional convention, set about drafting a formal state constitution. What Adams forged proved so successful that it later became a template for the Constitution of United States. What made the 1780 Massachusetts constitution so influential was how it seemingly balanced the populist ideals promised to the citizenry by the Revolution with the fundamentally conservative expectations of the existing Massachusetts elite. In terms of structure, it established an elective chief magistrate (the governor), a bicameral legislature (the General Court made up of a House and a Senate), and an independent judiciary (an appointed state court system). Also, Adams included a declaration of rights to ensure civil liberties (as well as his brainchild's ratification). Although ratified by town meetings throughout the commonwealth, the document was fundamentally conservative in that it secured the ruling elite's control over the state by giving disproportionate power to the wealthy coastal counties of Suffolk and Essex. Not surprisingly, the 1780 constitution became the darling of the Federalist Party establishment that fought to resist constitutional reform. In opposition, the Democratic-Republicans chafed at the propertied basis for representation in the Senate, which gave an eastern county like Suffolk six senators to Berkshire's two, despite the fact that Berkshire had a larger population. Also, the Democratic-Republicans, whose popular base was in the western part of the state and tended to be of modest means, despised the pecuniary qualifications for the franchise, as well as the nonelected judiciary, claiming both were profoundly undemocratic.
In 1820 the opponents to the 1780 constitution had their chance when the Maine district of Massachusetts was broken off and given statehood. As a result of such radical change, the General Court called for a constitutional convention to revisit the constitution of 1780. Despite optimistic expectations for major constitutional reform, an assortment of conservatives, led by a highly sophisticated Federalist Party machine, outwitted the forces of reform at the convention, and little significant change was effected. Power remained centralized in the east, with Boston serving as its epicenter. Although the state constitutional convention proved a great victory for the Federalist establishment, in the early 1820s the party faced an angry populist insurgency fed up with the dictatorial leadership style of the Federalists. In Boston a third party, the Middling Interest, emerged that rejected the deferential nature of past politics and took up an activist stand for reform. In the mayoral election of 1822, the insurgency forced Federalist Party boss Harrison Gray Otis to bow out of the race and elected a Middling Interest candidate, thus marking the demise of the Federalist Party in Massachusetts. Although it still existed in name for a few more years, the party never regained its once dominant position in Massachusetts political life, thus signaling the advent of the Jacksonian Age and the Second Party System.
Bibliography
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