veto power, but
their independence of public opinion was more effectually safeguarded by
depriving a mere majority of the legislature of the power to remove
them. The provision of the Federal Constitution requiring a two-thirds
majority in the legislative body for removal by impeachment or otherwise
was quite generally copied. Without some such safeguard the party in
control of the legislature could prevent the exercise of the judicial
veto by removing from office any judges who dared to oppose its policy.

New York and South Carolina were the only states adopting constitutions
during the Revolutionary period, which included provisions limiting the
power of the majority to impeach public officials. The New York
constitution of 1777 required a two-thirds majority in the lower house,
and the South Carolina constitution of 1778 a two-thirds majority in
both houses. Pennsylvania copied the impeachment provisions of the
Federal Constitution in her constitution of 1790; Delaware went even
farther, and in her constitution of 1792, required a two-thirds majority
in both houses; Georgia followed the example of the Federal
Constitution in 1798; Virginia, in 1830; North Carolina, in 1835;
Vermont, in 1836; New Jersey, in 1844; and Maryland, in 1851.

With the progress of this movement to restore the system of checks in
the state constitutions the governor regained his independence of the
legislature and also many of the rights and prerogatives of which the
Revolution had deprived him. He was made coordinate with the
legislature, set over against it and generally clothed with the
qualified veto power, which made him for all practical purposes the
third house of that body. Georgia increased the governor's term of
office to two years and gave him the qualified veto power in 1798.
Pennsylvania made his term of office three years and gave him the veto
power in 1790. New Hampshire conferred the veto power on him in 1792 and
New York in 1821.

This tendency to make the public official less directly dependent upon
the people or their immediate representatives is clearly seen in other
important changes made in the state constitutions during this period.
Popular control over the legislature was diminished by lengthening the
terms of the members of both houses and by providing that the upper
house should be elected for a longer term than the lower. Georgia
established an upper house in 1789 and made the term of office of its
members three