Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776
The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 has been described as the most democratic in America and was authored primarily by George Bryan, James Cannon, and Benjamin Franklin. Some highlights include:
- Voting franchise for all tax paying free men.
- A unicameral legislature with members elected to one-year terms.
- A thirteen-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 legislation should be held until the next session of 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
- A Council of Censors (elected every seven years) to conduct an evaluation of the activities. They 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.
In 1790, however, it was replaced by a new constitution.