Today in 1787, the vision of a new federal government for the fledgling United States of America was saved from the scrap heap of history as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention narrowly voted to adopt a key provision known as the Connecticut Compromise (or, alternately, the Great Compromise). For weeks, delegates had been…
Tag: constitutional history
July 2: Connecticut Refuses to Fight in War of 1812
It would be an understatement to say that the War of 1812 was unpopular in Connecticut. As a region, New England as a whole was fiercely opposed to the War of 1812, which they viewed as a frivolous and economically disastrous war waged by President James Madison against the British Empire. But Connecticut in…
April 29: Oliver Ellsworth, Co-Author of “The Connecticut Compromise” & Founding Father of the U.S. Supreme Court
Oliver Ellsworth, a Connecticut jurist who played a key role in drafting both the U.S. Constitution and the Judiciary Act of 1789 that helped establish the federal court system and U.S. Supreme Court, was born on this day in 1745 in Windsor. After graduating from the College of New Jersey (modern-day Princeton University), Ellsworth…
April 19: Connecticut (Finally) Approves U.S. Bill of Rights
Today in 1939, Connecticut became the last state in the the union (which consisted of 48 states at the time) to ratify the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights — 150 years after the list of amendments were first proposed. Why the delay? It certainly wasn’t because Connecticans didn’t place a high value on securing…
December 15: The Hartford Convention Discusses Secession
Today in 1814, delegates from every New England state but Maine (which was not yet a state of its own, but still part of Massachusetts) met at the Old State House in Hartford to take action against what they saw as the federal government’s misguided and inept handling of the War of 1812. While…
November 27: Connecticut Passes Its Own Equal Rights Amendment
In 1972, Connecticut was one of over thirty states that voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment as passed by Congress, which expressly prohibited discrimination based on a person’s sex. The federal E.R.A would have become the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution upon ratification by 3/4 of the states in the Union, but…
October 12: Connecticut’s Constitution of 1818 Goes Into Effect – but Not Without Grumbling
Today in 1818, Gov. Oliver Wolcott issued a Proclamation declaring the new state Constitution approved and ratified, and henceforth “the supreme law of the State.” The proclamation followed a state-wide referendum exactly one week before, on October 5th, that had seen the proposed revision of government win approval by only 1,554 votes. The 13,918 votes…
October 7: Danbury Baptists Inspire Jefferson’s “Separation of Church and State” Doctrine
One of the central tenets of modern American political doctrine was borne out of a humble letter exchange that began on this day in Connecticut history. On October 7, 1801, the Danbury Baptists Association of Danbury, Connecticut sent an eloquent letter to newly-elected President Thomas Jefferson expressing their concerns about Connecticut’s continued state sponsorship…
September 15: Connecticans to Vote on a New State Constitution
On September 15, 1818, three weeks after they first assembled at the state house in Hartford, delegates voted 134 to 61 to approve a newly-written state constitution and submit it to a vote of the people of Connecticut for ratification. In a particularly radical, last-minute twist, the delegates also voted to require only a…
August 26: State Constitutional Convention Convenes in Hartford
On this day in 1818, delegates to the state’s Constitutional Convention gathered at the State House in Hartford for the first time, charged with the formidable task of restructuring Connecticut state government by creating a new, written constitution. Writing a new constitution was no small task, given the social, cultural, and political upheaval Connecticut…
July 16: The “Connecticut Compromise” Saves the U.S. Constitution
On this day in 1787, the vision of a new federal government for the fledgling United States of America was saved from the scrap heap of history as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention narrowly voted to adopt a key provision known as the Connecticut Compromise (or, alternately, the Great Compromise). For weeks, delegates…
July 13: Connecticut Suffragists Appeal to Woodrow Wilson
On July 13, 1918, the morning edition of the Hartford Courant featured a rousing account of rallies held throughout the state by women demanding action on the proposed nineteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution — the amendment that would guarantee women the right to vote. In Hartford, speeches were given at City Hall and…