New Hampshire adopted the first state constitution on January 5, 1776, in the founding-era timeline behind America250.
The document was adopted by New Hampshire’s revolutionary government while the colonies were still breaking with British authority. It created a temporary governmental framework before the colonies declared independence as a group later that year. New Hampshire’s action therefore predates the Declaration of Independence by several months.
This constitution was not the United States Constitution. The U.S. Constitution was written in Philadelphia in 1787 and took effect after ratification in 1788. New Hampshire later became the decisive ninth state to ratify that federal Constitution on June 21, 1788.
The January date can be missed because many founding milestones cluster in 1776. Virginia adopted its Declaration of Rights in June, and Pennsylvania adopted a constitution in September. New Hampshire’s January constitution belongs to the earlier phase of revolutionary self-government that preceded the formal national declaration commemorated by America250.