Lesson 7: What Basic Ideas about Government and Rights Did the State Constitutions Include?

Lesson Objectives

When you have finished this lesson, you should  be able to

• explain the basic ideas about government and rights that are included in state constitutions,
• explain how the experiences of the states in developing their constitutions and bills of rights influenced the framing of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and
• evaluate, take, and defend positions on the theory of legislative supremacy, the importance of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the role of declarations of rights in early state constitutions.