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North Dakota 1889 Constitutional Convention Autograph Book

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 363

Scope and Contents

The North Dakota 1889 Constitutional Convention Autograph Book is a cloth-covered album (12 x 20 cm.) in which on separate pages seventy-one of the seventy-five delegates signed their name, together with their town and sometimes county of residence. Some delegates also included the date of their signature, including August 13 and 16, 1889.

Dates

  • 1889.

Creator

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection are not held by the Institute.

History

The Enabling Act of February 22, 1889, authorized North Dakota statehood and provided for a state constitutional convention consisting of seventy-five delegates to be selected from twenty-five districts in the state. The delegates were elected on May 14, 1889, and the Constitutional Convention opened in Bismarck on July 4, 1889. The president of the Constitutional Convention was Fred Fancher, the GOP caucus nominee. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention consisted primarily of farmers and lawyers with all but six from districts in the eastern half of the state. Twenty-three of the delegates were foreign born; none were natives of Dakota Territory. Politically, fifty-one Republicans dominated the convention, outnumbering nineteen Democrats, two Prohibitionists, two Populists, and one independent. The constitution drafted by the convention was lengthy and reflected reform ideas shared by many of the delegates. The constitution effectively limited the power of the state government and state officials and attempted to limit the power and influence of corporations and other ‘interests’ on the state government. The constitution also provided for the location of thirteen state colleges and institutions and included a prohibition article that was required to be ratified separately from the constitution. Voters in the state ratified the constitution overwhelmingly on October 1, 1889 by a vote of 27,441 to 8,107 and narrowly approved the prohibition article by a vote of 18,552 to 17,393. (Extracted from Guide to the North Dakota State Archives, by David P. Gray, p. 17-18.)

Extent

1 Items (1 item (28 p.))

Language of Materials

English

Provenance

Donor Mrs. Frank G. Jewett, 1958 (Acc. 968).

Property rights

The Institute for Regional Studies owns the property rights to this collection.
Title
Finding Aid to the North Dakota 1889 Constitutional Convention Autograph Book
Description rules
Appm
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository

Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States