History of the Constitutions of Iowa

To recur occasionally to the history and ideals of our pioneer forefathers will give us a more generous appreciation of the worth of our Commonwealth and a firmer faith in our own provincial character. It is believed that a more intimate knowledge of the political history of our own Commonwealth will not only inspire local patriotism, but give us a better perspective of the political life of the Nation.

This little volume was written for publication by the Historical Department of Iowa upon the request of Mr. Charles Aldrich. Since the work is intended as a narrative essay, it has been thought best to omit all foot-note citations to authorities. For the original sources upon which the essay is largely based the reader is referred to the author's collections of documentary materials which have been published by the Iowa State Historical Society. Quotations used in the body of the text have been reprinted literatim without editing.

The Convention of 1857 and the Constitution of 1857 have been little more than noticed in chapters XIX and XX. An adequate discussion of these subjects would have transcended the limits set for this volume by several hundred pages.

The author wishes to express his obligations to his friend and colleague, Professor W. C. Wilcox, of the University of Iowa, who has carefully read the proof-sheets of the whole volume.

BENJ. F. SHAMBAUGH. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA JULY, 1902

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION II. A DEFINITION III. THE CONSTITUTION MAKERS IV. SQUATTER CONSTITUTIONS V. THE TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN VI. THE TERRITORY OF IOWA VII. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORY VIII. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORY AMENDED XI. AGITATION FOR A STATE CONSTITUTION X. THE CONVENTION OF 1844 XI. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1844 XII. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1844 SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS XIII. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1844 DEBATED AND DEFEATED BY THE PEOPLE XIV. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1844 REJECTED A SECOND TIME XV. THE CONVENTION OF 1846 XVI. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1846 XVII. THE NEW BOUNDARIES XVIII. THE ADMISSION OF IOWA INTO THE UNION XIX. THE CONVENTION OF 1857 XX. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1857

AN HISTORICAL ESSAY

I

INTRODUCTION

Three score years and ten after the declaration went forth from Independence Hall that "all men are created equal," and fifteen years before the great struggle that was to test whether a nation dedicated to that proposition can long endure, Iowa, "the only free child of the Missouri Compromise," was admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States.

Profoundly significant in our political evolution are events such as these. They are milestones in the progressive history of American Democracy.

To search out the origin, to note the progress, to point to the causes, and to declare the results of this marvelous popular political development in the New World has been the ambition of our historians. Nay more, the "American experiment" has interested the talent of Europe; and our political literature is already enriched by De Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," by von Holst's "Constitutional and Political History of the United States," and by Bryce's "American Commonwealth." Ever since its adoption the Constitution of the "Fathers" has been the most popular text-book of constitution drafters the world over.

At the same time it is strangely true that the real meaning, the philosophical import, of this interesting political drama has scarcely anywhere been more than suggested. A closer view reveals the fact that all of the documents themselves have not yet been edited, nor the narrative fully told. At present there is not a chapter of our history that is wholly written, though the manuscript is worn with erasures.