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A New Framework for North Carolina In 1776, North Carolina needed a government of its own as it moved away from British rule. Delegates met and approved the state’s first constitution on December 18 of that year. A constitution is a plan that sets out how a government is organized and what it may do. The document divided government work among three branches. The legislature made laws, the governor and other executive officers carried them out, and courts handled legal disputes. Giving different responsibilities to separate parts of government was intended to balance authority among the branches. The constitution named some protections, including freedom of religious practice and the right to a jury trial. These protections did not mean that everyone had equal political power. Voting qualifications differed between the two legislative houses: property ownership was required to vote for the Senate, while eligible tax-paying freemen could vote for the House of Commons. Women could not vote. Free Black men retained voting rights in North Carolina until 1835. North Carolina used the 1776 constitution for many years. A new state constitution took its place in 1868. The earlier document was an important move toward governing the state independently, but its voting rules also show how narrowly political participation was defined at the time.