On December 18, 1776 the Fifth Provincial Congress of North Carolina adopted the state’s first constitution. The North Carolina leaders who drafted this document consulted founder John Adams as well as the newly adopted constitutions of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The constitution separated powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The legislative branch featured a bicameral General Assembly that chose a governor to serve a one-year term. The governor needed concurrence from a seven-member Council of State, members of which were chosen by the General Assembly.