Montana Constitution
Encyclopedia
The Constitution of the State of Montana is the primary legal document
providing for the self-governance of the U.S. State
of Montana
. It establishes and defines the powers of the three branches
of the government of Montana
, and the rights of its citizens. Its provisions are sovereign
within the state, subject only to the limits imposed by the federal laws
and constitution of the United States
. The current Montana Constitution was adopted in 1972 and is the second enacted in the state's history.
was organized by the United States Congress on May 26, 1864. The first constitution intended for Montana's statehood was written in 1866, but was lost on the way to the printer and so was never subject to a vote. A second constitution was written and ratified in 1884, but due to political reasons, Congress failed to take any action to approve Montana's admission to the Union. That document consequently never attained legal force.
In 1889, Congress passed an enabling act
that finally permitted the people of Montana to be admitted to the Union after adopting and ratifying a constitution, and the third constitution for the incipient state was written and ratified later that year. It entered into force on November 8, 1889, when Montana became the 41st state admitted to the Union by the Presidential Proclamation of Benjamin Harrison
.
The 1889 Constitution remained in force until 1972, when a new constitutional convention
was held. The 1972 Constitution was adopted by the 100 delegates to the Constitutional Convention on March 22, 1972, and was ratified by the citizens of Montana on June 6, 1972, through Referendum No. 68.
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
providing for the self-governance of the U.S. State
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. It establishes and defines the powers of the three branches
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
of the government of Montana
Montana State Government
As established and defined by the Montana Constitution, the government of the State of Montana is composed of three branches, the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative...
, and the rights of its citizens. Its provisions are sovereign
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
within the state, subject only to the limits imposed by the federal laws
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
and constitution of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The current Montana Constitution was adopted in 1972 and is the second enacted in the state's history.
History
The Montana TerritoryMontana Territory
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
was organized by the United States Congress on May 26, 1864. The first constitution intended for Montana's statehood was written in 1866, but was lost on the way to the printer and so was never subject to a vote. A second constitution was written and ratified in 1884, but due to political reasons, Congress failed to take any action to approve Montana's admission to the Union. That document consequently never attained legal force.
In 1889, Congress passed an enabling act
Enabling act
An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it for authorization or legitimacy the power to take certain actions. For example, enabling acts often establish government agencies to carry out specific government policies in a modern nation...
that finally permitted the people of Montana to be admitted to the Union after adopting and ratifying a constitution, and the third constitution for the incipient state was written and ratified later that year. It entered into force on November 8, 1889, when Montana became the 41st state admitted to the Union by the Presidential Proclamation of Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
.
The 1889 Constitution remained in force until 1972, when a new constitutional convention
Constitutional convention (political meeting)
A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
was held. The 1972 Constitution was adopted by the 100 delegates to the Constitutional Convention on March 22, 1972, and was ratified by the citizens of Montana on June 6, 1972, through Referendum No. 68.
External links
- "Constitution of the State of Montana" (1972). Montana Legislature. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- "Constitution of the State of Montana" (1889). University of Montana Law Library. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- "Constitution of the State of Montana" (1884) ratified but never approved by Congress. University of Montana Law Library. Retrieved August 14, 2011.