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1 The Constitution of East Florida [1] (1812)

handle is hein.statecon/cstefl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: krpvisional .ove'rnment assented to and Passed the 11 July 1812 THE Ci1STITuTI0, 01' EAST FLORIDA Pream~ble The people of the rovince of East rlo i a have lived for years under a bondage aLnost unupeprtale, and thouch many of thei had felt, & all of them had witnessed the happiness which their neijhbor, divided from them only by the river St. iArys, experienced, they remained in this adject state, sen ible of their situation until they discovered that new attempel ,. -were t ai. degrade them. It might have been expected that a people who neither i edolized their priest, ;or coUId 1nic it ai_ to lick the dust irom the feet of their op~esbors, but who knew that man, in wlatever garnent le might be clothed, to whatever power he might Le elevated, wns like themselves, liable to all the imperfeetions & wea.nesses of our ouo~ton nature, with )robably a larger proportion of its vices, would nave been the first in tue Spanish Territory to nave declared thei.,elve free and independent. They saw however their Bretheren of the SouL,, seize tnis honor, n wx the liveliest sympathy, wished then ever success. Awar, Of the dange.s evcr attenida.t on r evolutions, it was not until after :ature eli.eration tsiat the pcuele oi iasi lorida took up arms a~ainst a 3overment whose Territories ini both iomispheres could no lon.er a iford t-at J)rtccti . witho~.t whicii alleian cannot be claimed withot ent-L erating the any impolitic : oppressive Laws & Acts of the Spanish overxwent, whicn tne unhapj kan livin, under it, onl, can be familiar with, and which our tyrants, the one in the character oi Governor, with brutel volence, and the other in that of Judge with the most shocking corrutAion, latterl enforced upon us. We have discovered in order that our degradation mi8git be complete, that we have been offered with our Country for sale, to both the Great beligerents of Europe. Patience and subtission jielded to the duties we owed ourselves and our posterityg we declared ourselves free and independent and we have driven our oppressors with their mercenaries within the walls of the Theatre of their vile acts, and over the dungeons of their wretched victims. We acknowledge with grateful hearts the Goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe for the mercies already afforded us, and we hope through his providence shortly to become a Territory and a component &rt of the Government of the United States, but until it can become our pride and boast to feel that we are Citizens of a Territory of the United States, and under rules & regulations of that Gvernment, it becomes highly necessary that a Government should be established in this Province to prevent anarchy and confusion* There- fore we the delegates of the freemen of East Florida chosen and assembled for the exjress purpose of framing a Constitution under the Authority of the people do declare that a Government for this Territory shall be estab- lished in manner and form following, to wito Article Ist The Executive, Legislative & Judiciary Departments, shall be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers of the other, nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same timej

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