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The Constitution of the Vermont Republic was drafted and ratified in 1777, and was the first written national constitution in North America. It was also the first constitution in the New World to outlaw slavery and allow all adult males to vote, regardless of property ownership. During the Vermont Republic, sometimes referred to as "the first republic", a veiled suggestion of future independence, the government issued its own coinage and currency, and operated a postal service. The general Assembly and Governor's Council adopted the infantry banner of the Green Mountain Boys as the national flag of the nascent republic. The Governor of the Republic, Thomas Chittenden, with consent of his council and the unicameral General Assembly, appointed ambassadors to France, the Netherlands, and the American government seated in Philadelphia. The Vermont Republic is sometimes referred to as a "reluctant republic" because many early citizens favored political union with the United States. The independent status held until 1791, when Vermont joined the Union, in part as a non-slaveholding counterweight to the slaveholding Kentucky. The admission of Vermont was supported by the North, the smaller states, and states concerned about the impact of the sea-to-sea grants held by other states. Thomas Chittenden served as head of state for Vermont for most of this period, and became its first governor as a member-state in the United States.
