美国革命时期马萨诸塞立宪运动的意义和影响

The Meaning and Significance of the Massachusetts Constitutional Movement during the Revolutionary Period

在美国革命期间各州的立宪中 ,马萨诸塞立宪运动以成就最为突出、意义最为深远而著称。马萨诸塞立宪开创了专门制宪会议和人民批准宪法的先例 ,设计了以分权制衡为特色的新型共和政体 ,在宪政思想方面取得了新的突破 ,展现了革命期间美国政治文化的一个精彩侧面 ,尤其是推动了外来政治理论的本土化 ,并对英国宪政经验进行了创造性的转化。所有这一切都对联邦立宪产生了直接的影响 ,为美国宪政的形成提供了丰富的滋养。

The Massachusetts constitutional movement, incomparable in terms of what it achieved and its influence on the Constitution during the revolutionary period, was celebrated for its experimentation with constitutional convention and ratification of the constitution by the people: a design for a new republican form of government featuring separation of powers and checks and balances. It also made breakthroughs in the conceptions of constitution, accelerated the localization of European political theories, and led to a creative transformation of the British constitutionalism. It thus presented a profile of the political culture of revolutionary America, contributing greatly to the making of the United States Constitution, and providing rich nourishment for the growth of American constitutionalism.