THE OLD CONSTITUTION HOUSE
The first constitution in America to prohibit slavery, allow men to vote without requiring property ownership, and authorize a public school system was adopted here in Windsor, Vermont in 1777.
Less than a year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, another new Republic was taking shape. Delegates from the newly independent Republic of Vermont gathered at a tavern in Windsor to draft a constitution.
The Vermont Constitution was adopted at this tavern during a violent thunderstorm in 1777.
The Vermont consitutution was far reaching — the first to prohibit slavery, establish universal voting rights for all males, and authorize a public school system. The constitution guided the Republic for 14 years until 1791, when Vermont was admitted to the Union as the fourteenth state.
Called the "Birthplace of Vermont", the restored Old Constitution House looks as it did more than 200 years ago. An exhibit recounts the writing of the most progressive consititution of its time, and examines its effect on the politics of the young nation.
