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5 Harv. J. on Legis. 311 (1967-1968)
Trends in State Constitutions

handle is hein.journals/hjl5 and id is 331 raw text is: TRENDS IN STATE CONSTITUTIONS CHARLES R. ADRIAN* A constitution is a set of rules about rule making and, consequently, is preeminently a political document. In the American states, the constitutions have never been accorded the reverence which has been associated with the United States Constitution almost from the be- ginning. The state constitutions have been amended quite freely in most states and some states have followed the practice of adopting a new constitution every generation or two. A few of them, like those of Illinois and Tennessee, are extremely difficult to amend, while at the other extreme some, such as those of California and Louisiana, are amended so easily and frequently as to suggest that many so-called amendments are in fact little more than statutes adopted by initiative or referendum. In many of the states, a considerable tradition has grown up about the state constitutions, and as we would expect, even when they are amended drastically or new constitutions are drafted, the established institutions of the state and the prevailing life styles tend to be pre- served. In the East, in particular, constitutions and other state insti- tutions tend to be regarded as part of the heritage from colonial or revolutionary times. Thus, the Massachusetts constitution of 1919 is, in the folklore of the commonwealth, the constitution of 1780. The Vermont constitution of 1913 is commonly regarded as the constitution of 1793. The Maine constitution of 1876 is treated as if it were the original constitution of 1820. But in most states, the constitution is viewed pragmatically as an instrument for the assignment of powers and as the balance of political groupings changes in the state, so does the constitution. I. THE EARLY STATE CONSTITUTIONS The early state constitutions were very similar one to another. They were brief documents and the original thirteen constitutions shared these characteristics: I. They were all based on the idea that governmental powers were *Professor of Political Sdence, University of California, Riverside; BA., Cornell University, 1947; M.A., University of Minnesota, 1948; Ph.D., University of Min- nesota, 1950.

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