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Constitution of Indiana
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Constitution of Indiana
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is subordinate only to the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Prior to the enactment of Indiana's first state constitution and achievement of statehood in 1816, the Indiana Territory was governed by territorial law. The state's first constitution was created in 1816, after the U.S. Congress had agreed to grant statehood to the former Indiana Territory. The present-day document, which went into effect on November 1, 1851, is the state's second constitution. It supersedes Indiana's 1816 constitution and has had numerous amendments since its initial adoption.
Indiana's constitution is composed of a preamble, articles, and amendments. Among other provisions, it specifies a republican form of government (pursuant to Article IV, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution) consisting of three branches: executive (including administration), legislative, and judicial. The state constitution also includes a bill of rights, grants suffrage and regulates elections, provides for a state militia, state educational institutions, and sets limits on government indebtedness. The Indiana General Assembly may amend the constitution, subject to ratification by vote of the people, as specified in Article 16 of Indiana's 1851 constitution.
In 1811 the Indiana Territory's House of Representatives adopted a memorial to the U.S. Congress asking permission for its citizens "to form a government and constitution and be admitted to the Union", but the War of 1812 delayed the process until 1815. Some members of the territory's general assembly, as well as Thomas Posey, governor of the Indiana Territory, objected to statehood at that time. They believed that the territory's limited size and scattered population would make a state government too costly to operate. However, after a census authorized in 1814 proved that its population had reached 63,897, exceeding the minimum population requirement of 60,000 as outlined in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, efforts to pass a request to consider statehood for Indiana were renewed.
On December 11, 1815, the territory's House of Representatives voted seven to five in favor of the memorial to Congress stating its qualification to become a state. The request was presented in the U.S. House of Representatives on December 28, 1815, and introduced in the U.S. Senate on January 2, 1816. A House committee chaired by Jonathan Jennings, Indiana's territorial representative, reported out a bill for an Enabling Act, which provided for the election of delegates to a convention to consider statehood for Indiana. The bill passed in the U.S. House on March 30, 1816, and in the U.S. Senate on April 13. President James Madison signed the Enabling Act into law on April 19, 1816. If a majority of the delegates to Indiana's constitutional convention agreed, the delegates would proceed to create a state constitution.
As outlined in the Enabling Act, election of delegates to Indiana's first constitutional convention took place on May 13, 1816. The convention at Corydon, the territorial capital in Harrison County, began on Monday, June 10, 1816. The convention's elected delegation of forty-three men were apportioned among the thirteen counties that were "in existence prior the 1815 General Assembly" and based on each county's population.
In the early nineteenth century some of the Indiana Territory's citizens opposed statehood. The major concerns were the loss of financial support from the federal government if it became a state and the fear of a tax increase to pay for the new state government. The minority group preferred to wait until later, when the population was even larger and the state's economy and political structure was more firmly established. The majority of the territory's citizens viewed statehood as an opportunity for more self-government and wanted to proceed. The territory's pro-statehood faction preferred to elect their own state officials instead of having the federal government appoint individuals on their behalf, formulate state laws, discontinue the appointed territorial governor's absolute veto power, and allow its citizens to have greater participation in national politics, including voting powers in Congress.
At the time the delegates were gathering at Corydon in June 1816, slavery had become a major and divisive issue in the territory. The indenture law of 1805 had been repealed, but slavery continued to exist within Indiana. Two major factions emerged. An anti-slavery/pro-democracy group was led by Jonathan Jennings and his supporters. Former territorial governor and future U.S. president William Henry Harrison's allies led the pro-slavery/less democratic group. Supporters of Indiana statehood (the pro-Jennings faction) favored democracy, election of state officials, and voting representation in Congress. Harrison's allies supported slavery within the territory and maintaining Indiana's territorial status with a federally appointed governor. The anti-slavery faction preparing for statehood hoped to institute a constitutional ban on slavery.
On June 10, 1816, the first day of the convention, forty-two delegates convened at Corydon to discuss statehood for Indiana. The convention's forty-third delegate, Benjamin Parke, did not arrive until June 14. Thirty-four of the elected delegates agreed on the issue of statehood. On June 11, the delegation passed a resolution (34 to 8) to proceed with task of writing the state's first constitution and forming a state government.
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Constitution of Indiana
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is subordinate only to the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Prior to the enactment of Indiana's first state constitution and achievement of statehood in 1816, the Indiana Territory was governed by territorial law. The state's first constitution was created in 1816, after the U.S. Congress had agreed to grant statehood to the former Indiana Territory. The present-day document, which went into effect on November 1, 1851, is the state's second constitution. It supersedes Indiana's 1816 constitution and has had numerous amendments since its initial adoption.
Indiana's constitution is composed of a preamble, articles, and amendments. Among other provisions, it specifies a republican form of government (pursuant to Article IV, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution) consisting of three branches: executive (including administration), legislative, and judicial. The state constitution also includes a bill of rights, grants suffrage and regulates elections, provides for a state militia, state educational institutions, and sets limits on government indebtedness. The Indiana General Assembly may amend the constitution, subject to ratification by vote of the people, as specified in Article 16 of Indiana's 1851 constitution.
In 1811 the Indiana Territory's House of Representatives adopted a memorial to the U.S. Congress asking permission for its citizens "to form a government and constitution and be admitted to the Union", but the War of 1812 delayed the process until 1815. Some members of the territory's general assembly, as well as Thomas Posey, governor of the Indiana Territory, objected to statehood at that time. They believed that the territory's limited size and scattered population would make a state government too costly to operate. However, after a census authorized in 1814 proved that its population had reached 63,897, exceeding the minimum population requirement of 60,000 as outlined in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, efforts to pass a request to consider statehood for Indiana were renewed.
On December 11, 1815, the territory's House of Representatives voted seven to five in favor of the memorial to Congress stating its qualification to become a state. The request was presented in the U.S. House of Representatives on December 28, 1815, and introduced in the U.S. Senate on January 2, 1816. A House committee chaired by Jonathan Jennings, Indiana's territorial representative, reported out a bill for an Enabling Act, which provided for the election of delegates to a convention to consider statehood for Indiana. The bill passed in the U.S. House on March 30, 1816, and in the U.S. Senate on April 13. President James Madison signed the Enabling Act into law on April 19, 1816. If a majority of the delegates to Indiana's constitutional convention agreed, the delegates would proceed to create a state constitution.
As outlined in the Enabling Act, election of delegates to Indiana's first constitutional convention took place on May 13, 1816. The convention at Corydon, the territorial capital in Harrison County, began on Monday, June 10, 1816. The convention's elected delegation of forty-three men were apportioned among the thirteen counties that were "in existence prior the 1815 General Assembly" and based on each county's population.
In the early nineteenth century some of the Indiana Territory's citizens opposed statehood. The major concerns were the loss of financial support from the federal government if it became a state and the fear of a tax increase to pay for the new state government. The minority group preferred to wait until later, when the population was even larger and the state's economy and political structure was more firmly established. The majority of the territory's citizens viewed statehood as an opportunity for more self-government and wanted to proceed. The territory's pro-statehood faction preferred to elect their own state officials instead of having the federal government appoint individuals on their behalf, formulate state laws, discontinue the appointed territorial governor's absolute veto power, and allow its citizens to have greater participation in national politics, including voting powers in Congress.
At the time the delegates were gathering at Corydon in June 1816, slavery had become a major and divisive issue in the territory. The indenture law of 1805 had been repealed, but slavery continued to exist within Indiana. Two major factions emerged. An anti-slavery/pro-democracy group was led by Jonathan Jennings and his supporters. Former territorial governor and future U.S. president William Henry Harrison's allies led the pro-slavery/less democratic group. Supporters of Indiana statehood (the pro-Jennings faction) favored democracy, election of state officials, and voting representation in Congress. Harrison's allies supported slavery within the territory and maintaining Indiana's territorial status with a federally appointed governor. The anti-slavery faction preparing for statehood hoped to institute a constitutional ban on slavery.
On June 10, 1816, the first day of the convention, forty-two delegates convened at Corydon to discuss statehood for Indiana. The convention's forty-third delegate, Benjamin Parke, did not arrive until June 14. Thirty-four of the elected delegates agreed on the issue of statehood. On June 11, the delegation passed a resolution (34 to 8) to proceed with task of writing the state's first constitution and forming a state government.
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