ELEVEN REVOLUTIONS IN THE COLONIES

OLLI of Greater Birmingham presents Eleven Revolutions in the Colonies with Daniel Haulman, author and Chief, Organizational History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB. Was the American Revolution revolutionary? We will compare the colonial frames of government with the first state constitutions that replaced them. In 11 of the 13 cases, the institutional changes were truly revolutionary. We will discuss how representative the governments were, which branches or houses were elected, if there was a declaration of rights, how many legislatures and houses of legislature there were, how fairly the electoral districts were arranged, and how the executive branches were chosen and defined. Which states were the most revolutionary in their first state constitutions? Which states adopted more than one constitution during the War for Independence? The goal is to give us a good understanding of the origins of the first American governments and how they contributed to the coming Constitution of the United States.