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Connecticut is known as "The Constitution State". The origin of this title is uncertain, but the nickname is assumed to be a reference to the Fundamental Orders of 1638–39 which represent the framework for the first formal government written by a representative body in Connecticut.
Connecticut historian John Fiske was the first to claim that the Fundamental Orders were the first written Constitution, a claim disputed by some modern historians. [7] The Mayflower Compact has an equal claim 19 years before; however, this Order gave men more voting rights and made more men eligible to run for elected positions. [8]
The colonial charter was abolished with the adoption of the first state constitution in 1818. In contrast to the Fundamental Orders, that constitution provided for freedom of religion. On October 1, 1901, Connecticut residents voted nearly 2-to-1 in favor of calling of a constitutional convention to revise the constitution.
On January 14, 1639, freemen from these three settlements ratified the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut" in what John Fiske called "the first written constitution known to history that created a government. It marked the beginnings of American democracy, of which Thomas Hooker deserves more than any other man to be called the father.
The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony led by Thomas Hooker .
Thus, Connecticut earned its nickname of The Constitution State. Connecticut historian John Fiske was the first to claim that the Fundamental Orders were the first written Constitution, a claim disputed by some modern historians. [4] The orders were transcribed into the official colony records by the colony's secretary Thomas Welles.
In 1818, a new constitution was adopted that was the first piece of written legislation to separate church and state in Connecticut, and give equality to all religions. Gubernatorial powers were also expanded as well as increased independence for courts by allowing their judges to serve life terms.
Connecticut's official nickname is "The Constitution State", adopted in 1959 and based on its colonial constitution of 1638–1639 which was the first in America and, arguably, the world. [1] Connecticut is also unofficially known as "The Nutmeg State", [ 1 ] whose origin is unknown.