Jefferson valued drafting good state constitutions over declaring independence itself

Evidence

“In truth it is the whole object of the present controversy,” he wrote to Nelson about the new constitution, “for should a bad government be instituted for us in future it had been as well to have accepted at first the bad one offered to us from beyond the water without the risk and expense of contest.” — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 190

Categorization

• XREF: Relevant to legal-first-principles course: Jefferson treating constitutional design as more foundational than the independence vote itself anticipates debates over which moment is truly constitutive. — connects to: Adams ranked state constitutions and foreign treaties above any declaration in defining independence — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 164; Virginia’s three constitutional documents each shaped the American Declaration of Independence — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 192; Louverture’s constitution functioned in practice as a declaration of independence — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 871 (+2 more)
• QUESTION: Worth pursuing: does Jefferson’s preference for constitution-drafting over the independence declaration anticipate his later view that constitutions should be periodically revisited?

Broader Connections

• Independence required each colony to first form its own republican government #expands (0.95) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 162
• Legal independence required constitutions, confederation, and foreign treaties, not just a declaration #corroborates (0.90) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 267
• Louverture’s constitution functioned in practice as a declaration of independence #exemplifies (0.85) — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 871