FIRST ONE PREPARED WAS ON  FEB. 22,1889
LAST CONSTITUTION PREPARED AND SIGNED ON MARCH 22, 1972

The Blessings of Liberty Montana's Constitutions  Link
A cooperative exhibit of the Montana Historical Society, the Secretary of State and the citizens of Montana based upon a display in the Montana State Capitol.

We the people of Montana grateful to God for the quiet beauty of our state, the grandeur of our mountains, the vastness of our rolling plains, and desiring to improve the quality of life, equality of opportunity and to secure the blessings of liberty for this and future generations do ordain and establish this constitution.
Preamble of the 1972 Montana Constitution. See below.
Before Montana was a state, it was a territory.  During those early years, the President of the United States appointed territorial governors, justices, and other officials to govern Montana.  Sometimes these appointed officials knew little about the West or about the particular problems in Montana.  Even though the territory was taxed, its citizens had no vote in Congress.  Montanans longed for statehood.  As citizens of a state they could elect their own officers and be represented in Congress.

To achieve statehood, Montana Territorial citizens needed to prepare and accept a written constitution of which Congress approved. This important document contained the basic laws of the state, the duties of its elected officials, and the rights of the people governed. Montanans prepared constitutions in 1866, 1884 and 1889. A fourth constitution, written long after statehood, replaced the 1889 document.

 In 1866 the Territory was too young and inexperienced to stand much hope of achieving statehood.  Nevertheless, motivated by personal gain, Acting Governor Thomas Francis Meagher called a constitutional convention.  Delegates reluctantly but dutifully prepared a document.  This early constitution never survived a vote of the people or the purview of Congress.  It was lost on the way to the printers in St. Louis.

Years passed.  Montana Territory matured.  In 1883 the Territorial legislative assembly called for a constitutional convention in Helena.  Borrowing from the Colorado, California, and New York constitutions, delegates prepared a document that limited the power of the executive branch and placed authority in the legislature. However, the 1884 document stood little chance in Congress.  A political stalemate prohibited any discussion of the admission of states that could potentially upset the balance of power.

In 1889, however, that impasse changed abruptly. At once, it was permissible to add not only Montana to the Union, but three additional western states as well. Montanas Territorial government called a constitutional convention. The 1889 constitution reflected the one written five years before.  Voters passed it by an overwhelming majority. Montana gained admittance to the Union on November 8, 1889.

By 1960 many Montanans recognized that the 1889 constitution had served primarily as a tool to achieve statehood.  It was neither dynamic nor innovative; it encouraged neither leadership nor creative solutions.

Citizens approved a Constitutional Convention in 1972.  Leo Graybill, Jr., an attorney from Great Falls, presided.  The one hundred elected delegates produced one of the nations most progressive documents.  It advocated single-member legislative districts, open-meeting requirements, and the care and protection of the environment.

From lost documents created for spurious reasons, to constitutions crafted for the purpose of achieving statehood, and eventually to a model instrument emulated by others to protect environment and personal rights, these constitutions are historical treasures documents that preserve The Blessings of Liberty.


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1889 Montana Constitution

1972 CONSTITUTION

 
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.

The 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.
Beginning in the 1800s, women organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote, but it took them decades to accomplish their purpose. Between 1878, when the amendment was first introduced in Congress, and August 18, 1920, when it was ratified, champions of voting rights for women worked tirelessly, but strategies for achieving their goal varied. Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state—nine western states adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts. Militant suffragists used tactics such as parades, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. Often supporters met fierce resistance. Opponents heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused them.
By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. When New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917 and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift.
On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and 2 weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, changing the face of the American electorate forever.
 

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