The Montana Constitution Collection
The Montana Constitution Collection is a project of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center and the Blewett School of Law. It contains a record of Montana’s constitutional history leading through the 1972 Constitutional Convention.
In the rush to ratify a constitution while political conditions were favorable to statehood, the 1889 Constitutional Convention largely readopted the 1884 Constitutional Convention, which in turn borrowed heavily from the 1876 Colorado Constitution. As Professors Larry Elison and Fritz Snyder explain, “The 1889 Constitution was enacted more as a tool to achieve statehood than to provide a well-thought-out structure of governance for the new state.” The chairman of that Convention, William Andrews Clark, expressed the delegates’ understanding that given the inevitable changes the new state would undergo, “[T]he genius and wisdom of our successors will eliminate, supplement, and amend” the text of the new constitution.
Eight decades took their toll on the 1889 Constitution’s utility for a changing state. The Constitution, and, therefore, state government, became increasingly rigid and unresponsive to the people. In response, Montana became the only state from the so-called “class of 1889” states admitted in that year (Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming), and the only state in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest, to adopt a second constitution.
The 1960s reapportionment revolution reallocated political power from rural areas to cities and towns under the principle of one-person, one-vote. In 1967 the reconstituted Legislature commissioned a report “to determine if [the 1889 Constitution] is adequately serving the current needs of the people." The resulting Legislative Council Report concluded that just 48% of the sections in the 1889 Constitution were adequate in that they did not “present a major obstacle to effective government.” The 1969 Legislature responded to the Council’s work with the appointment of a Constitutional Revision Commission and a referendum on calling a constitutional convention. More than sixty-five percent of Montana voters approved the call for a Constitutional Convention in November 1970. The state elected 100 delegates to the Convention in November 1971. After three days of orientation after the elections, the delegates formally convened in Helena on January 17, 1972 and met for 54 days. The delegates signed the proposed constitution and adjourned on March 24, 1972. Just over half of Montanans voting on the new constitution ratified it in June 1972. All but the legislative apportionment provisions of the 1972 Constitution took effect on July 1, 1973.
The Convention record spreads across several sets of documents. A seven-volume set published in 1979 and 1981 by the Montana Legislative Council contains a core of materials: convention rules and personnel; committees and witness lists; delegate proposals and committee reports; and a verbatim transcript of floor debates and votes. Before the Convention, the professional staff of the Montana Constitutional Convention Commission collected and prepared a series of documents to inform the delegates: Papers containing primary sources and prior studies by the Legislative Council and Constitutional Revision Commission, Memos concerning the organization of a constitutional convention, and Studies of subject-matter areas likely to be addressed in a new constitution. This collection also includes several less prominent but important sources: committee minutes and testimony providing a source for several key proposals and debates, the original 1972 and subsequent voter information pamphlets explaining the plain meaning of provisions, and contemporaneous and more recent commentaries on the constitutional debates.
Adapted from Professor Anthony Johnstone's article: The Constitutional Initiative in Montana, 71 Mont. L. Rev. 325 (2010).
Use these links or the images below to browse the collection.
- 1884 Constitution and Proceedings
- 1889 Constitution and Proceedings
- 1972 Commission Memos
- 1972 Commission Papers
- 1972 Commission Studies
- 1972 Committee Minutes and Testimony
- 1972 Committee Proposals
- 1972 Constitutional Convention and Proceedings
- 1972 Montana Constitution Context & Commentary
- 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention Exhibit (hosted on Montana History Portal)
- 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention Oral Histories
- "In the Crucible of Change" (hosted at Montana Tech)
- Montana Constitution Wiki (Montana Constitutional Law course project)
- Voter Information Pamphlets (1972-2020)
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Minutes of the thirteenth meeting of the Bill of Rights Committee
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Bill of Rights Committee
The subject of this meeting was an environment issue and an unsettled Indian issue.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Legislative--Unicameral and Bicameral
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Legislative Committee
Revision to the Legislative Committee proposal.
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Minutes of the twenty-fourth meeting of the Revenue and Finance Committee
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Revenue and Finance Committee
In this meeting the committee discussed amendments to their proposal.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Executive
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Executive Committee
Revision to the Executive Committee proposal.
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Minutes of the twenty-sixth meeting of the Local Government Committee
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Local Government Committee
In this meeting the committee considered a change to Section 5.
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Minutes of the twenty-fifth meeting of the Revenue and Finance Committee
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Revenue and Finance Committee
In this meeting the committee discussed Section 6 of their proposal.
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Minutes of a meeting of the Public Information Committee
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Public Information Committee
In this meeting the committee discussed the Montana State University booklet and tours.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Judiciary
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Judiciary Committee
Revision to the Judiciary Committee proposal.
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Minutes of the twenty-eighth meeting of the Education and Public Lands Committee
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Education and Public Lands Committee
In this meeting, the committee reconsidered the education article.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Natural Resources and Agriculture
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee
Revision to the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee proposal.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Revenue and Finance
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Revenue and Finance Committee
Revision to the Revenue and Finance Committee proposal.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Bill of Rights
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Bill of Rights Committee
Revision to the Bill of Rights Committee proposal.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Education and Public Lands
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Education and Public Lands Committee
Revision to the Education and Public Lands Committee proposal.
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Style, Drafting, Transition, and Submission Committee Proposal
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission
A unanimous proposal submitted by the Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Public Health, Welfare, Labor and Industry
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Public Health, Welfare, Labor and Industry Committee
Revision to the Public Health, Welfare, Labor and Industry Committee proposal.
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Minutes of the twenty-sixth meeting of the Revenue and Finance Committee
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Revenue and Finance Committee
In this meeting the committee discussed Section 6 of the Revenue Article.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on General Government
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee
Revision to the General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee's proposal on general government.
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Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Local Government
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Local Government Committee
Revision to the Local Government Committee proposal.
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Report of the Public Information Committee ending March 21, 1972
Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Public Information Committee
This is a report of the Public Information Committee on the numerous projects handled by the committee.
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Memo to Margaret Warden from Fred Martin
Fred Martin
This is a memo from the Press Subcommittee expressing thanks to the press and to the Public Information Committee for supporting the "People's Right to Know".