First Amendment to the United States Constitution restrained but by despotic Governments." Eight of the other twelve states made similar pledges. However, these declarations were generally considered "mere admonitions to state legislatures", rather than enforceable provisions. After several years of comparatively weak government under the Articles of Confederation, a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia proposed a new constitution on September 17, 1787, featuring among other changes a stronger chief executive. George Mason, a Constitutional Convention delegate and the drafter of Virginia's Declaration of Rights, proposed that the Constitution include a bill of rights listing and guaranteeing civil liberties. Other delegates—including future Bill of Rights drafter James Madison—disagreed, arguing
Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state) majority of state voters. Georgia has had ten different constitutions in its history. Prior to having a formal constitution, a document entitled Rules and Regulations of the Colony of Georgia, drafted in 1776, was in effect. A year later, in 1777, the first formal constitution was drafted, followed by the constitutions of 1787, 1798, 1861 (after joining the Confederate States of America), 1865, 1868, 1877, 1945, 1976, and 1983. All constitutions up until 1945 were drafted by constitutional convention. That year, Governor Ellis Arnall appointed a twenty-three member commission, composed of all three branches of government, to write a new