Illinois’ Constitutional History
Mrs. Frickenstein using information collected from isba.net
Illinois
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 5th most
populous state, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country. It
was granted statehood in 1818. Illinois government is modeled after the
Federal government and the U.S. Constitution. To be admitted to the
Union, Illinois had to adopt its own constitution.
Capital: Springfield
Statehood granted: December 3, 1818
Population: 12.88 million (2012)
State flower: Viola
Motto: State Sovereignty, National Union
Nicknames: The Prairie State, Land of Lincoln
Having a Constitution….
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The influence of the constitution may be seen around us daily. If you
are in a public school, the school district you are in traces its right to
exist to the constitution.
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The constitution may influence non-public schools by prohibiting the
direct use of public funds for religious purposes.
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Every day our lives are influenced by laws regulating
traffic, our family, the house or apartment we live in,
and even the air we breathe.
We the People
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In article 1, section 23, our constitution reminds us that citizens have
a duty to participate in government by stating that,
“The blessing of liberty cannot endure unless the people recognize their
corresponding individual obligations and responsibilities.”
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Each of us has an obligation to understand
governmental processes and to exercise our
votes responsibly.
The Preamble
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In addition to creating a framework of government as it exists today,
the constitution identifies several goals that we as a society would like
to achieve.
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The preamble, which resembles the Preamble of the United
States Constitution, contains many of these goals.
Our First Constitution
1818
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The first Illinois Constitution was written during the summer of 1818
at a convention in Kaskaskia on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Kaskaskia had been the territorial capital and was the state capital of
Illinois from 1818 through 1820.
The constitution was adopted as part of the process Illinois had to
follow to be admitted into the Union.
The convention members who drafted the constitution met for only
twenty-one days and produced a constitution that was relatively short.
It was modeled after the U.S. Constitution and the state constitutions
of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.
One of the main issues when the 1818 Constitution was drafted was
that of slavery.
Our Second Constitution 1848
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The 1818 Constitution governed Illinois for a thirty year period from
admission as a state until 1848 when the second constitution was
adopted.
This was a period of rapid growth and development when the state was
changing from a sparsely populated pioneer state to one of the most
populated states in the Union.
Growing…..
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Most pioneer families lived a rugged, independent life style, relying on
other family members and neighbors rather than government for
assistance and services.
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Government kept the official records of the state, provided courts to
resolve disputes and passed laws which regulated private activities.
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There was little business to regulate, virtually no transportation
system to maintain, and even less in the way of education and social
services to oversee.
Growing…….
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The 1848 Constitution was three times longer than the 1818
Constitution.
The increased length was due to greater responsibilities being
delegated to the executive and judicial branches of government and
restrictions placed on the legislative branch. (We will learn more about
these later……)
Local government duties were also more
thoroughly identified.
Our Third Constitution 1870
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This constitution governed Illinois for the next 100 years.
The constitution reflected the continuing growth and changing nature
of Illinois.
During that 100 years the population of the state continued to
increase. Chicago tripled in size during the 1860’s and became a city of
300,000.
Our 4th and Final Constitution 1970
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Interestingly, the Illinois Constitutional Convention grappled with many
of the same topics that caused the Founding Fathers to meet for the
Constitutional Convention in 1787.
The federal convention of 1787 was called because of the widely held
belief that the central government was inadequate to raise sufficient
revenue or regulate commerce, and that there was a need to adjust
the relationship between the state and national levels of government.
In Illinois, the 1970 convention debated taxes and revenue, the role of
government in a modern society, and the relationship between the
state government and local governmental units.
This is the constitution we still use today!