Body of liberties: Godly constitutionalism and the origin of written fundamental law in Massachusetts, 1634-1666

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate that written constitutionalism in the English North American colonies sprang in large part from the activities of Massachusetts political leaders who shared an ideology which I call "godly constitutionalism." Scholars have so far been unable to account for written constitutionalism by means of the common law or colonial charters. Historians have not adequately dealt with written law codes, like the 1641 Massachusetts "Body of Liberties" drafted by godly constitutionalist Nathaniel Ward, for fear that engaging the issue of Puritan ideology would resurrect the idea that the United States is a "Christian nation," American exceptionalism, or "Whig history" (the notion that all of history was merely a preparation for Anglo-American democratic institutions). It is impossible, however, to trace the origins of written constitutionalism without restoring New England as a site of truly ideological contestation. I will show that godly constitutionalists consistently promoted the cause of written fundamental law against the supporters of Gov. John Winthrop, who wanted to organize Massachusetts society around the discretion of magistrates, judging on a case-by-case basis. The godly constitutionalists, many of whom resided in the village of Ipswich, Massachusetts, were cosmopolitan participants in a transatlantic republic of letters, not American exceptionalists. Far from being parochial, they drew on Catholic and medieval sources to support a social order based on hierarchy, not a "Whig" proto-democracy. They turned to written constitutionalism not for the sake of innovation, but in order to protect traditional customs threatened by Old World upheavals and New World conditions.