In the American state there is a power above the legislature
Germs of the idea of a written constitution
Development of the idea of contract in Roman law; mediaeval charters
The "Great Charter" (1215)
The Bill of Rights (1689)
Foreshadowing of the American idea by Sir Harry Vane (1666)
The Mayflower compact (1620)
The "Fundamental Orders" of Connecticut (1639)
Germinal development of the colonial charter toward the modern state constitution
Abnormal development of some recent state constitutions, encroaching upon the legislature