# What is the second-oldest presidential/congressional republic?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-second-oldest-presidential-congressional-republic/707357>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 16, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-second-oldest-presidential-congressional-republic/707357 "2014-12-16T03:49:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-second-oldest-presidential-congressional-republic/707357/41 "2014-12-17T18:29:22Z")

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Apparently, the world’s first presidential/legislature form of government was set up in Corsica when they declared independence from Genoa, see [Pasquale Paoli - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasquale_Paoli). This says at one point:

> [@](#):
>
> In November 1755, the people of Corsica ratified a constitution that proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, independent from the Republic of Genoa. This was the first constitution written under Enlightenment principles. The new president and author of the constitution occupied himself with building a modern state; for example, he founded a university at Corte.[5]

Of course, this is not continuous. It was overthrown by Napoleon (native Corsican and one time supporter of Paoli) and has been part of France ever since.

There is a suburb on the main line of Philly named Paoli. It was named after the founding president of Corsica, Pasquale Paoli (see Wiki article on Paoli, PA) and I have long assumed that that reflected a significant influence of the Corsican constitution on the US’s.

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