Fundamental Constitution of Carolina - South Carolina Encyclopedia

On July 21, 1669, John Locke's Fundamental Constitutions of the English colony of Carolina was approved. An excerpt from the article:

"Because the first draft of the Fundamental Constitutions, dated July 21, 1669, is in John Locke’s handwriting, scholars have occasionally surmised that he was its author. Early editions of Locke’s writings included the Fundamental Constitutions among his works. However, evidence suggests that Ashley Cooper was the chief author of the constitution while Locke acted as his secretary and copyist. The political values of the constitution reflect the influence of the political philosopher James Harrington. In his political utopia in Oceana (1656), Harrington described a nation ruled by landed classes and governed by an unalterable written constitution. Locke’s Two Treatises on Civil Government (1690) and his writings on religious toleration postdate his association with the Lords Proprietors, and their emphasis on social contract and natural law contradict some elements of the Fundamental Constitutions.

The Fundamental Constitutions established a Carolina aristocracy, with the Lords Proprietors at the apex of society, provincial nobles called landgraves and cassiques (or caciques), and freemen. Landless tenants, called leetmen, were the base of the social pyramid described in the constitution. Slavery was authorized and protected. In early versions of the Fundamental Constitutions, the sale and purchase of land were prohibited to preserve the chain of tenancy from the proprietors to the freemen. The written provisions of the constitution were to be unalterable, and upon arriving in Carolina settlers were expected to affirm in writing their allegiance to the proprietors and their support of the Fundamental Constitutions. The province was divided into counties, which were to be the chief units of government. Counties were divided into seigniories, baronies, and precincts, which corresponded to the three classes of society: proprietors, local nobility, and freemen. The amount of land an individual held determined his or her rights and responsibilities in the province."