Constitution of Oklahoma
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th U.S. state. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the lengthiest governing document of any government in the U.S. All U.S. state constitutions are subject to federal judicial review; any provision can be nullified if it conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.
The constitution has been regularly amended, beginning with an amendment approved in the same election in which it was ratified. More than 150 constitutional amendments have been approved by Oklahoma voters.
History
From 1890 onward, the land that now forms the State of Oklahoma was made up of the Oklahoma Territory, and the Indian Territory. Indian Territory, as its name suggests, had a large Native American population; the territory itself had been reduced over time to its then size.Sequoyah Constitutional Convention
The movement to secure statehood for Indian Territory began in 1902 with a convention in Eufaula, consisting of representatives of the "Five Civilized Tribes". The representatives met again in 1903 to organize a constitutional convention.The Sequoyah Constitutional Convention met in Muskogee, on August 21, 1905. General Pleasant Porter, Principal Chief of the Creek Nation, was selected as president of the convention. The elected delegates decided that the executive officers of the Five Civilized Tribes would also be appointed as vice-presidents: William Charles Rogers, Principal Chief of the Cherokees; William H. Murray, appointed by Chickasaw Governor Douglas H. Johnston to represent the Chickasaws; Chief Green McCurtain of the Choctaws; Chief John Brown of the Seminoles; and Charles N. Haskell, selected to represent the Creeks.
The convention drafted a constitution, drew up a plan of organization for the government, put together a map showing the counties to be established, and elected delegates to go to the United States Congress to petition for statehood. The convention's proposals were then put to a referendum in Indian Territory, in which they were overwhelmingly endorsed.
The delegation received a cool reception in Washington. Eastern politicians, fearing the admission of two more Western states, and no doubt unwilling to admit an "Indian" state, put pressure on the U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, who finally ruled that the Indian and Oklahoma Territories would be granted statehood only as a combined state.
The hard work of the Sequoyah State Constitutional Convention was not entirely lost, however. When representatives from Indian Territory joined the Oklahoma State Constitutional Convention in Guthrie the next year, they brought their constitutional experience with them. The Sequoyah Constitution served in large part as the basis for the constitution of the State of Oklahoma, which came into being with the merger of the two territories in 1907.
List of Prominent Delegates to the Sequoyah Convention
- William H. Murray
- Charles N. Haskell
- Robert L. Williams
- Henry S. Johnston
- Pete Hanraty
- Albert H. Ellis
- Charles M. McClain
- Chas H. Filson
- James S. Buchanan
Oklahoma Constitutional Convention
The Oklahoma Constitutional Convention opened in Guthrie on November 20, 1906. William H. Murray was elected chairman of the convention. Charles N. Haskell was elected the majority floor leader by the Democrats, and Henry Asp was elected minority floor leader by the Republicans. William Jennings Bryan came to encourage the delegates to write, "the very best constitution ever written." Bryan proposed that they accomplish this by consulting previously written state constitutions. The delegates not only complied, but also consulted the proceedings of the Sequoyah Convention, and the U.S. Constitution. Having completed a draft document, they adjourned March 15, 1907. There were two additional week-long sessions called to finish the draft before it was put before the voters on September 17, 1907. Eligible voters approved their new Constitution a 71 percent yes vote. Satisfied with the proposed document, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the necessary papers November 16, 1907, and announced, "Oklahoma is now a state."
Members
Members of the Oklahoma Constitutional convention included:- L. J. Akers
- R. J. Allen
- J. A. Alderson
- H. E. Asp
- J. A. Baker
- W. E. Banks
- G. M. Berry
- G. N. Bilby
- C. W. Board
- C. H. Bowers
- O. H. P. Brewer Jr.
- B. E. Bryant
- James S. Buchanan
- W. A. Cain
- J. J. Carney
- J. M. Carr
- W. J. Caudill
- J. H. Chambers
- H. L. Cloud
- J. H. N. Cobb
- A. G. Cochran
- Riley Copeland
- H. P. Covey
- J. J. Curl
- W. T. Dalton
- W. S. Dearing
- William A. Durant
- W. H. Edley
- J. T. Edmondson
- Albert H. Ellis
- C. C. Fisher
- C. O. Frye
- N. B. Gardner
- J. C. Graham
- Pete Hanraty
- D. G. Harned
- J. A. Harris
- J. B. Harrison
- Benjamin F. Harrison
- Charles N. Haskell
- A. L. Hausam
- Samuel W. Hayes
- W. L. Helton
- W. F. Hendricks
- George A. Henshaw
- F. E. Herring
- J. K. Hill
- David Hogg
- P. B. Hopkins
- R. E. Houston
- W. B. Hudson
- W. C. Hughes
- Walter Davis Humphrey
- W. T. S. Hunt
- T. O. James
- W. D. Jenkins
- Henry S. Johnston
- Cham Jones
- Matthew John Kane
- Henry Kelly
- J. F. King
- W. H. Kornegay
- J. H. Langley
- Milas Lasater
- J. S. Latimer
- T. J. Leahy
- B. F. Lee
- C. S. Leeper
- W. A. Ledbetter
- W. C. Leidtke
- W. N. Littlejohn
- I. B. Littleton
- E. O. McCance
- Charles M. McClain
- P. J. McClure
- J. C. Majors
- Christopher Columbus Mathies
- J. Harvey Maxey
- E. F. Messenger
- J. L. Mitch
- C. L. Moore
- William H. Murray
- Flowers Nelson
- E. G. Newell
- J. K. Norton
- Gabe E. Parker
- C. H. Pittman
- J. J. Quarles
- S. N. Ramsey
- Thad Rice
- Luke Roberts
- C. V. Rogers
- D. S. Rose
- J. M. Sandlin
- J. E. Sater
- J. J. Savage
- Edwin Sorrells
- E. J. Stowe
- J. W. Swarts
- J. B. Tosh
- H. O. Tener
- F. C. Tracy
- G. M. Tucker
- H. G. Turner
- Carlton Weaver
- E. R. Williams
- Boone Williams
- R. L. Williams
- D. P. Willis
- George W. Wood
- J. I. Wood
- Thomas Charles Wyatt
- A. S. Wyly
- John M. Young
Preamble
Article of the Constitution
The remainder of the constitution consists of twenty-nine articles, with the first eight pertaining to the state’s government.Federal Relations
Article One establishes how the state of Oklahoma is to relate to the United States federal government, stating that the US Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land. By this article, religious freedom is established, polygamy is forbidden, the debts of Oklahoma Territory are acquired by the State of Oklahoma, public school are established to be taught only in English, and that suffrage shall never be revoked due to “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”Bill of Rights
Article Two enumerates the rights of all citizens of the State of Oklahoma. These include that all political power derives from the people, the inherent rights “to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry,” the right to peaceful assembly, a ban on the interference with suffrage, the definition of treason, the right to trial by jury, that marriage in the State of Oklahoma is defined as being between a man and a woman, and many others.The right of a citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power, when thereunto legally summoned, shall never be prohibited; but nothing herein contained shall prevent the Legislature from regulating the carrying of weapons.