"
The constitution of Frankland, agreed to on the 14th of November,
1785, appeals to us today rather by its spirit than by its
practical provisions. "This State shall be called the
Commonwealth of Frankland and shall be governed by a General
Assembly of the representatives of the freemen of the same, a
Governor and Council, and proper courts of justice.... The
supreme legislative power shall be vested in a single House of
Representatives of the freemen of the commonwealth of Frankland.
The House of Representatives of the freemen of the State shall
consist of persons most noted for wisdom and virtue."
In these exalted desires of the primitive men who held by their
rifles and hatchets the land by the western waters, we see the
influence of the Reverend Samuel Doak, their pastor, who founded
the first church and the first school beyond the great hills.
Early in the life of Watauga he had come thither from Princeton,
a zealous and broadminded young man, and a sturdy one, too, for
he came on foot driving before him a mule laden with books.
Legend credits another minister, the Reverend Samuel Houston,
with suggesting the name of Frankland, after he had opened the
Convention with prayer. It is not surprising to learn that this
glorified constitution was presently put aside in favor of one
modeled on that of North Carolina.
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