John Adams
Massachusetts Constitution

After returning from his first mission to France in 1779, Adams was elected to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention with the purpose of establishing a new constitution for Massachusetts. He served on a committee of three, also including Samuel Adams and James Bowdoin, to draft the constitution. The writing fell primarily to John Adams. The resulting Constitution of Massachusetts was approved in 1780. It was the first constitution written by a special committee, then ratified by the people, and was the first to feature a bicameral legislature. Included were a distinct executive – though restrained by an executive council – with a qualified (two-thirds) veto, and an independent judicial branch. The judges were given lifetime appointments, to "hold their offices during good behavior."

The Constitution affirmed the "duty" of the individual to worship the "Supreme Being," and the right to do so without molestation "in the manner most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience." It established free public education for three years to the children of all citizens. Adams was a strong believer in education as a pillar of the Enlightenment. He believed that people "in a State of Ignorance" were more easily enslaved while those "enlightened with knowledge" would be better able to protect their liberties.
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