New Hampshire adopted the first state constitution during the Revolutionary era.
On January 5, 1776, the New Hampshire Congress met in Exeter and voted to establish a civil government. This action produced the first state constitution adopted by an American colony after it moved away from royal rule. The temporary constitution created a legislature with an Assembly and a Council.
New Hampshire’s document was designed for wartime necessity rather than as a permanent, fully developed constitutional system. It did not include a separate executive branch, and it remained in effect only until a revised constitution took effect in 1784. Other states soon drafted more detailed frameworks as the Revolution continued.
The New Hampshire constitution should not be confused with the state’s later 1784 constitution, which remains the basis of the modern state government. It also predates the United States Constitution by more than a decade. Its importance lies in showing how revolutionary governments began replacing colonial institutions before independence was formally declared.