Malcolm Rivera
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, also known as the Grand Model, was a form of government and society for the Carolina colony from 1669 to 1698. It was drafted by John Locke, a social philosopher, and Anthony Ashley Cooper, a Whig politician and chief proprietor, and featured an intricate social and governmental framework based on hereditary landownership. The Constitutions established an aristocracy with the Lords Proprietors at the top, provincial nobles called landgraves and cassiques, and freemen. It also authorized and protected slavery, with slaveholders granted absolute power over their slaves. While the Fundamental Constitutions were never fully employed or ratified, they did shape power dynamics and land distribution in the Carolinas. Today, the complex structure of government and emphasis on landownership outlined in the document are considered impractical and unrealistic. So, does Carolina still use the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina? The answer is no.
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What You'll Learn
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were adopted on 1 March 1669
On 1 March 1669, the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were adopted by the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. This province included most of the land between what is now Virginia and Florida.
The Constitutions were drafted during John Locke's service to one of the Lords Proprietors, Anthony Ashley Cooper, leading to the widely held belief that Locke played a significant role in their creation. Historians David Armitage and Holly Brewer, however, argue that Locke's role was more akin to that of a paid secretary, writing the document as a lawyer would. In contrast, Armitage and political scientist Vicki Hsueh contend that Locke and Cooper co-authored the Constitutions. Locke's later fame brought attention to the Constitutions, particularly for their value in the context of classical liberalism. Voltaire, for instance, praised the Constitutions' religious tolerance, stating:
> "Cast your eyes over the other hemisphere, behold Carolina, of which the wise Locke was the legislator."
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were designed to "avoid erecting a numerous democracy" and to establish a feudal government and society, with the Proprietors at its head. The Constitutions introduced safeguards for groups seeking refuge for religious reasons and gave the right to worship and the right to constitute a church to religious dissenters to Christianity and outsiders such as Jews. They also promoted both aristocracy and slavery in North America. Article 110, for instance, stated that "Every freeman of Carolina shall have absolute power and authority over his negro slaves, of what opinion or religion soever."
While the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were never fully employed nor ratified, they did shape power in the Carolinas, particularly in terms of land distribution.
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The Constitutions were drafted by John Locke
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were adopted on March 1, 1669, by the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. The Constitutions were drafted during John Locke's service to one of the Lords Proprietors, Anthony Ashley Cooper, leading to the widely held belief that Locke played a significant role in their creation.
In support of this view, historian David Armitage and political scientist Vicki Hsueh argue that the Constitutions were co-authored by Locke and Cooper, also known as the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. Locke's later fame brought attention to the Constitutions, particularly for their value in classical liberalism and their level of religious tolerance. Voltaire, for instance, praised the Constitutions, saying, "Cast your eyes over the other hemisphere, behold Carolina, of which the wise Locke was the legislator."
However, historian Holly Brewer offers a different perspective. She contends that Locke was merely a paid secretary, similar to a lawyer drafting a will, and that the Constitutions were a legal document written for, and signed and sealed by, the eight Lords Proprietors to whom Charles II had granted the colony.
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina introduced certain safeguards for groups seeking refuge for religious reasons. They also promoted both aristocracy and slavery in North America. Article 110 of the Constitutions infamously stated that "Every freeman of Carolina shall have absolute power and authority over his negro slaves, of what opinion or religion soever." This provision granted slaveholders the absolute power of life and death over their slaves.
The Constitutions were described as "reactionary" and experimented with a non-common law system designed to encourage a feudal social structure. They included rules that were challenging for settlers to implement in practice. While the provisions of the Fundamental Constitutions were never fully employed nor ratified, they did influence the distribution of power and land in the Carolinas.
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The document was designed to encourage a feudal social structure
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were adopted on March 1, 1669, by the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina, which included most of the land between what is now Virginia and Florida. The document was designed to provide a form of government and society for the Carolina colony from 1669 to 1698. The main purpose of the Fundamental Constitutions was to protect proprietary interests and to avoid the creation of a democracy. The document was designed to encourage a feudal social structure, with the proprietors as noblemen at the apex of a hierarchical society. This is evident in the exaltation of proprietors as noblemen and the introduction of new noble titles such as cassique and landgrave, which could be passed down from father to son.
The feudal government was to be headed by these nobles, who would rule through their own courts, a grand council, and a parliament. Freemen were to have a voice in government, but enslaved people and others who were bound were to have none. The Fundamental Constitutions also promoted both aristocracy and slavery in North America. Article 110 of the Constitutions stated that "Every freeman of Carolina shall have absolute power and authority over his negro slaves, of whatever opinion or religion soever." This provision granted slaveholders absolute power of life and death over their slaves and held that being a Christian did not alter the civil dominion of a master over his slaves.
The Fundamental Constitutions were drafted during John Locke's service to one of the Province of Carolina proprietors, Anthony Ashley Cooper, and it is widely alleged that Locke had a major role in their making. However, some historians argue that Locke was only a paid secretary and wrote the document much as a lawyer writes a will. The Constitutions were also designed to introduce certain safeguards for groups seeking refuge for religious reasons, and the level of religious tolerance portrayed was acclaimed by Voltaire.
While the provisions of the Fundamental Constitutions were never fully employed nor ratified, they did help to shape power in the Carolinas, especially in land distribution. The document was considered reactionary and experimented with a non-common law system to encourage a feudal social structure, including through the use of non-unanimous jury decisions for criminal convictions. The Constitutions were suspended from 1693 to 1698 and later abrogated by the lords proprietors in April 1693. Despite this, they still had a significant impact on the region's history and the development of its legal and social structures.
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The Constitutions promoted aristocracy and slavery
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, adopted on March 1, 1669, established a hierarchical social structure with the Lords Proprietors at the apex of society. It introduced titles such as cassique and landgrave, which could be passed down from father to son, creating a hereditary nobility. These nobles were granted special privileges, such as being tried only by a jury of their peers. The Constitutions also recognised the civil dominion of masters over their slaves, with Article 110 stating that "Every freeman of Carolina shall have absolute power and authority over his negro slaves, of whatever opinion or religion soever". This provision granted slaveholders the power of life and death over their slaves and reinforced the institution of slavery in Carolina.
The Constitutions were designed to encourage a feudal social structure, with landless tenants called "leetmen" forming the base of the social pyramid. The emphasis on landownership and tenancy has been characterised as feudalistic, with the document promoting a non-common law system. It introduced complex rules for land distribution, which were difficult for settlers to implement in practice. The Fundamental Constitutions established a highly structured form of government, with power concentrated in the hands of the Lords Proprietors and the provincial nobility. This concentration of power and the exaltation of proprietors as noblemen contributed to the aristocratic nature of the Constitutions.
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina promoted aristocracy by creating a hierarchical social structure with distinct classes. At the top were the Lords Proprietors, followed by provincial nobles or local nobility, who held titles such as landgrave and cassique. Below them were the freemen, who owned land, and at the bottom were the leetmen, who were landless tenants. This social pyramid entrenched aristocratic power and privilege, with each class having specific rights and obligations. The Constitutions also established a complex system of government, with the province divided into counties, seigniories, baronies, and precincts, which corresponded to the three main classes of society: proprietors, local nobility, and freemen.
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina not only promoted aristocracy but also explicitly authorised and protected slavery. Article 110 of the Constitutions granted absolute power and authority to slaveholders over their "negro slaves", regardless of the slaves' religion or opinion. This provision reinforced the institution of slavery and sanctioned the power of slaveholders over the lives and deaths of their slaves. The Constitutions also held that being a Christian did not alter a master's dominion over his slaves, further entrenching the practice of slavery in Carolina. The recognition of slavery as a civil institution reflected the societal vision promoted by the British Empire at the time.
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The document was frequently repudiated by Carolinians
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, a highly structured document, was drafted in 1669 by the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. It was designed to govern their New World province, which included most of the land between what is now Virginia and Florida. The document was part constitution and part promotional tract, with an elaborate social and governmental structure based on hereditary landownership. It also included, for its time, progressive attitudes towards religious tolerance.
The final version of the Fundamental Constitutions, issued in April 1698, was a pale shadow of its predecessors. It had lost virtually all of its aristocratic provisions, indicating that Carolinians had achieved a good measure of control over their government and would not endure much interference from the Lords Proprietors. This version was debated for several years in the Commons House of Assembly as a bill, but it was ultimately tabled in 1706 and never taken up again.
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were never fully employed nor ratified, and they were abrogated by the lords proprietors in April 1693. However, they did help shape power in the Carolinas, particularly in terms of land distribution.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were a set of laws that established a hierarchical social structure and outlined a complicated system of government for the Province of Carolina.
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were created by the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina, including Anthony Ashley Cooper, and his secretary, the future social philosopher John Locke.
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were first drafted on July 21, 1669, and officially adopted on March 1, 1669.
The key principles of the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina included the exaltation of proprietors as noblemen, the promotion of both aristocracy and slavery, and the emphasis on landownership as the foundation of society.
No, the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina are no longer in use. While they helped shape power dynamics and land distribution in the Carolinas, they were never fully ratified or implemented due to their complex and impractical nature.
