“The Massachusetts constitution was written much later than the other revolutionary state constitutions, and thus it avoids some of the earlier mistakes. The executive is stronger, with a limited veto; the senate is more formidable; and the judiciary is independent.” StatesMistakeWrittenConstitutionStrongerIndependentRevolutionaryExecutivesSenateFormidableJudiciaryMassachusettsVeto Author:Gordon S. Wood
“Creating senates, the French critics said, implied that there was another social order besides the people represented in the houses of representatives. [John] Adams actually agreed with that implication and argued that the aristocracy and the people had to have separate houses; this was the only way the power of the aristocracy could be contained.” PeopleWaySaidOrderHouseSocialCreatingCriticsSenateRepresentativesImplicationsAristocracySocial OrderImpliedHouse Of Representatives Author:Gordon S. Wood
“[John] Adams was arguing that a separate social order existed that needed to be embodied in senates and his fellow Americans could not accept this and accused him rightly of being obsessed with the English constitution.” OrderSocialAcceptingNeededConstitutionFellowsArguingObsessedSenateAccusedSocial Order Author:Gordon S. Wood
“[ Massachusetts constitution] was [John Adams] attempt to justify that structure by the traditional notion of social estates - that the executive represented the monarchical estate, the senate the aristocratic estate, and the house of representatives the estate of the people.” PeopleHouseSocialConstitutionStructureNotionTraditionalJustifyExecutivesSenateRepresentativesEstatesMassachusettsHouse Of RepresentativesAristocratic Author:Gordon S. Wood
