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The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 (ratified September 28, 1776) was the state's first constitution following the Declaration of Independence, and has been described as the most democratic in America. It was drafted by Robert Whitehill,〔("a drafter of the 1776 state constitution" )〕 Timothy Matlack, Dr. Thomas Young, George Bryan, James Cannon, and Benjamin Franklin. Pennsylvania's innovative and highly democratic government structure, featuring a unicameral legislature and collective executive, may have influenced the later French Republic's formation under the French Constitution of 1793. ==Innovations of the 1776 constitution== The 1776 Constitution contained several innovations which were quite radical for that era, including: * Voting franchise for all men who had paid taxes, without property qualifications. * A unicameral legislature, with members elected for one term. * A twelve-member Supreme Executive Council to administer the government. * A judiciary appointed by the legislature for seven-year terms, and removable at any time. * The provision that all approved legislation wait to be enacted until the next session of the Assembly, so that the people of the state could assess the utility of the proposed law. * A President elected by the Assembly and Council together. Thomas Wharton Jr. was chosen in 1777 to be the first President of the Supreme Executive Council. * A Council of Censors (elected every seven years) to conduct an evaluation of the activities. It could "censure" actions by the government deemed to have violated the constitution. The Council of Censors was the only body with the authority to call a convention to amend the constitution. The constitution also established Pennsylvania's official title, the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania". Three states, in addition to Pennsylvania—Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Virginia—are presently self-designated as "commonwealths". Additionally, the Constitution was the template from which Vermont's 1777 constitution, which gave birth to the state (though at the time it was claimed by New York and New Hampshire), was drawn.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://vermont-archives.org/govhistory/constitut/constitutions.htm )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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