Státní ústrojí Massachusetts v letech 1629–1644 (Z dějin ústavního práva USA v koloniálním období)

The colonial government in Massachusetts, which began to form under a Royal Charter issued in 1629, passed through a period of complex development between 1629 and 1644. At its onset was a colonial body known as the Governor and Council of London’s Plantation in the Massachusetts Bay in New England, but at its end there already were a Governor, an Executive Council and, in particular, an elected bicameral legislature. Very important factors in the development of the governmental structure in Massachusetts were the transfer of the Massachusetts Company and its charter to America, the formation of a unicameral legislative assembly in 1634, the enactment of the Body of Liberties in 1641, which governed the jurisdiction and interrelationship of the central bodies of the colony, and the transformation of the existing unicameral legislature into a bicameral body. While the transfer of the Massachusetts Company and its charter to America was brought about by a group of prominent stockholders, the subsequent development was due to political struggle waged by the colonists against the ruling group. This is especially true of the constitutional changes effected between 1634 and 1644. Although this development had its ups and downs and was marked by compromises, its results undoubtedly affected the subsequent history of the governmental structure of one of the oldest American colonies.