The First Constitution
6/3/2026 | 1m 20sVideo has Closed Captions
The Provincial Congress helped New Hampshire govern itself before independence.
Before the United States declared independence, New Hampshire had already formed its own government. Learn how the state became the first to adopt a constitution based on self-rule.
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Granite State History Minute is a local public television program presented by NHPBS
The First Constitution
6/3/2026 | 1m 20sVideo has Closed Captions
Before the United States declared independence, New Hampshire had already formed its own government. Learn how the state became the first to adopt a constitution based on self-rule.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipDid you know that New Hampshire was the first state to declare independence in 1776.
As tension increased during 1775, our Royal Governor, John Wentworth, became more and more concerned with protests and outright rebellion that was spilling into New Hampshire from Massachusetts.
That summer, he packed up and left the colony, heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
As a royal colony New Hampshire had no charter and no constitution.
When the governor left, there was no government.
Luckily, a kind of shadow legislature had already been set up by the annoyed colonists in Exeter, miles away from Portsmouth.
Late in 1775, this group, the Provincial Congress, began meeting to decide what to do.
With some input from the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, a temporary constitution was written and signed in Exeter on January 5th, 1776, which said they intended to govern themselves.
The first New Hampshire Constitution was used until 1784, when a more permanent constitution was written, but it's worth noting that New Hampshire considered itself free of British rule seven months before the rest of the country came on board.
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Granite State History Minute is a local public television program presented by NHPBS