Throughout Iowa there was a very general feeling of satisfaction with
the new political status which came with the establishment of State
government and admission into the Union. Having outlived the
conditions of Territorial government the pioneers of Iowa now entered
into the new political life without regret. They rejoiced over the
fact that they were recognized as a part of a great Nation. They
appreciated the significance of the change. Nor were the pioneers of
Iowa strangers to National political life. As settlers on the Public
Domain they were in a very special sense children of the Nation.
They had always cherished the inheritances of the "Fathers." But now
the days of dependence were over. Henceforth this people of the
frontier would strengthen the whole country with their own political
ideas and ideals. They would, indeed, help to vitalize the Politics of
the Nation with the provincial spirit of Western Democracy.
On the other hand, the people of Iowa did not accept their new State
Constitution without reservations. Wm. Penn Clarke's address had been
widely read and his arguments were accepted not alone by the Whigs. In
fact the Constitution of 1846 had not been adopted altogether on its
merits. The people were anxious to get into the Union, and they voted
for the Constitution as the shortest road to admission. They
meant to correct its errors afterwards.
In 1848 the editor of the _Iowa City Standard_ asserted that the
Constitution of 1846 had been "accepted purely from motives of
expediency, and with a tacit understanding that it was to receive some
slight amendments as soon as they could constitutionally and legally
be made. And but for this it would have been rejected by a very
handsome majority. No well informed citizen can deny this."
And so the Constitution of 1846 had scarcely been ratified at the
polls before an agitation looking toward its amendment or revision was
begun. As early as August 19, 1846, the _Iowa City Standard_ declared
that "three fourths of the people of Iowa have determined that, cost
what it may, the Ninth Article shall not remain unaltered in the
Constitution."
During the first session of the General Assembly of the State a bill
providing for an expression of the opinion of the people of Iowa upon
the subject of amendment passed the House of Representatives, but was
indefinitely postponed in the Senate by a vote of ten to eight. This
was in February, 1847. In 1848 the question of Constitutional
amendment was made an issue in the political campaign. The Whigs
advocated amendment or revision; while the Democrats as a rule stood
for the Constitution as ratified in 1846.
A bill providing for an expression of opinion by the people was again
introduced in the House of Representatives during the second session
of the General Assembly, but was indefinitely postponed after
the second reading. A similar bill was rejected by the House during
the third session. During the fourth regular session petitions
favorable to amendment were received from the people.
In the meantime Stephen Hempstead was elected to the office of
Governor. He had been opposed to the agitation for Constitutional
revision, and in his first Message of December 7, 1852, he said: "I
cannot avoid a feeling of deep concern at the opinion expressed by
some portion of our fellow citizens in favor of amending the
Constitution of our State in such a manner as to authorize the
establishment of Banks--of special acts of incorporation for pecuniary
profit, and of contracting State debts without limitations of the
General Assembly." In the same document he urged "upon the
General Assembly the propriety of passing a law to prohibit the
circulation of all bank notes of a less denomination than ten
dollars." When he retired from office in December, 1854, he still
declared that he saw no "imperative reason why our Constitution should
be amended." But his successor, Governor Grimes, favored submitting
the question of revision and amendment to the people.
The necessity for a Convention to revise the Constitution of 1846 had
become imperative. Iowa was flooded with a depreciated paper currency
from other States. Gold and silver money was scarce. The few pieces
which found their way into the State were hoarded either to pay taxes
or to pay for government land.
Finally, "An Act providing for the revision or amendment of the
Constitution of this State" was passed by the fifth General Assembly
and approved by Governor Grimes, January 24, 1855. In accordance with
its provisions a poll was opened at the general election in August,
1856, "for the purpose of taking a vote of the people for or against a
convention to revise or amend the Constitution." On the tenth day of
September the Governor declared in his official proclamation that a
majority of eighteen thousand six hundred and twenty-eight votes had
been cast in favor of a Convention.
In November, 1856, thirty-six delegates were elected to the Convention
which met in the Supreme Court room of the Old Stone Capitol at Iowa
City on January 19, 1857. Mr. Gray, of Linn County, called the
Convention to order and moved that John A. Parvin, of Muscatine, be
chosen President _pro tem_. On the following day Francis Springer was
elected President of the Convention. The other permanent officers were
as follows: Thomas J. Saunders, Secretary; Ellsworth N. Bates,
Assistant Secretary; S. C. Trowbridge, Sergeant-at-Arms; Francis
Thompson, Door Keeper; James O. Hawkins, Messenger; and W. Blair Lord,
Reporter.
Of the thirty-six delegates, six were from the New England States,
eleven from the Middle States, ten from the South, and nine from the
Middle West. As to occupation there were fourteen lawyers, twelve
farmers, two merchants, two dealers in real estate, two bankers, one
book-seller, one mail contractor, one druggist, and one
pork-packer. The youngest member was twenty-six, the oldest fifty-six;
while the average age of all the members was forty years. Twenty-one
of the thirty-six members were Republicans; the other fifteen were
Democrats.
Early in the session of the Convention of 1857 there appeared to be
considerable dissatisfaction with the accommodations afforded at Iowa
City. The General Assembly had not yet adjourned, and so the
Convention was compelled to meet for a few days in the Supreme Court
room. Some of the members complained of the hotel service, and
declared that they had not been welcomed with proper courtesy and
hospitality by the people of Iowa City. At the same time the
Convention received alluring invitations from Davenport and
Dubuque. A committee of five was appointed to whom these invitations
were referred. The report of this committee provoked a lively debate
which Wm. Penn Clarke desired to have suppressed in the published
reports. The result of the discussion was that the Convention
concluded to remain in Iowa City.
On the second day the members took an oath to support the Constitution
of the United States. Some desired to include in this oath the
Constitution of the State of Iowa; but the majority did not think it
proper to swear allegiance to a Constitution which the Convention was
called upon to amend, revise, or perhaps reject altogether.
The act of January 24, 1855, calling for the Convention,
provided for "the revision or amendment of the Constitution." Many
would have been satisfied with a few amendments. The Convention,
however, proceeded to draft a completely revised code of fundamental
law. The two large volumes of printed reports show that the principles
of Constitutional Law were discussed from Preamble to Schedule.
The most important question before the Convention of 1857 was that of
Corporations in general and of banking Corporations in particular. The
Republican majority was pledged to make provisions for a banking
system of some sort. But the popular mind had not decided whether
there should be a State bank with branches, or a free banking system
under legislative restrictions, or both. Difficult and intricate
as the problem was, the Iowa Convention handled it, nevertheless, with
energy and rare ability. The debates show that the laws and experience
of the other States were carefully studied. Nor were local conditions
and local experience forgotten. The discussions were long, earnest,
and often heated; but at no time did the Iowa Convention lose its
political sanity. That political poise which, in the long run, has
always characterized Iowa Politics was maintained throughout the
session.
As finally agreed upon in the Convention, the provisions of the new
Constitution relative to banking Corporations were in substance as
follows: (1) The power to make laws relative to Corporations was
conceded to the General Assembly. (2) But acts of the General Assembly
authorizing or creating Corporations with banking powers must be
referred to the people for their approval at a general or special
election. (3) The General Assembly was empowered to establish "a State
Bank with branches." But such a bank, if established, "shall be
founded on an actual specie basis, and the branches shall be mutually
responsible for each others' liabilities upon all notes, bills, and
other issues intended for circulation as money." (4) The General
Assembly may provide by a general law for a free banking system under
certain restrictions. (_a_) Provision shall be made "for the registry
and countersigning, by an officer of State, of all bills, or paper
credit designed to circulate as money," and the law shall "require
security to the full amount thereof, to be deposited with the
State Treasurer, in United States stocks, or in interest-paying stocks
of States in good credit and standing." (_b_) Records shall be kept of
the names of stockholders and of the stock held by each. (_c_) Every
stockholder shall be individually liable for an amount equal to twice
the amount of his stock. (_d_) In cases of insolvency bill-holders
shall have a preference over other creditors. (_e_) The suspension of
specie payments shall never be permitted or sanctioned. (5) By a vote
of two thirds of each branch of the General Assembly all laws for the
organization or creation of Corporations could be amended or repealed.
(6) The State shall not become a stockholder in any Corporation.
Next in importance to the question of Corporations was the Negro
problem. Shall the public schools of the State be open to
persons of color? Shall the Constitution guarantee to all persons,
irrespective of color, the right to acquire, hold, and transmit
property? Shall the testimony of Negroes be accepted in the courts?
Was the militia to be composed exclusively of "able-bodied white male
citizens?" Shall the right of suffrage be extended to Negroes? It was
in respect to these vital questions of the hour that the Republican
majority in the Convention was compelled to declare and defend its
attitude.
The fact that the Republican party of Iowa was thus being put on trial
for the first time makes the debates of the Convention of 1857
memorable in the political annals of the State. But these Iowa
Republicans were at the same time defining and defending the
attitude of their party on National issues; and so the debates of the
Iowa Convention are a source-book also in the broader history of
America.
No one can read the pages of these debates without feeling that Iowa
was making a decided contribution to National Politics. Nearly four
years before the "Divided House Speech" was delivered at Springfield,
Illinois, Governor Grimes had said in his inaugural address: "It
becomes the State of Iowa--the only free child of the Missouri
Compromise--to let the world know that she values the blessings that
Compromise has secured her, and that she will never consent to become
a party to the nationalization of slavery." And full two years before
Lincoln defined the attitude of his party in the Lincoln-Douglas
debates, it had gone forth from the Iowa Convention, (1) that the
Republican party was not a sectional party; (2) that Abolition was not
a part of the Republican creed; and (3) that, while they would arrest
the further extension of slavery, Republicans had no desire to
interfere with the institution in places where it already existed.
The question as to whether the Negro should be allowed to vote in Iowa
was referred to the people to be decided by them when the Constitution
itself was submitted for ratification.
Another question of interest which provoked considerable discussion in
the Convention was the location of the State University and the
re-location of the Capital. This problem had already been solved by
the General Assembly. But to prevent further agitation by making
the compromise permanent the following section was added to the new
Constitution: "The Seat of Government is hereby permanently
established, as now fixed by law, at the city of Des Moines, in the
county of Polk, and the State University at Iowa City, in the county
of Johnson."
After a session of thirty-nine days the third Constitutional
Convention in the history of Iowa adjourned _sine die_ on Thursday,
March 5, 1857.