Principles, institutions and law of political governance in the U.S. state of Alabama
Parts of this article (those related to entire article) need to be updated. The reason given is: adoption of the Alabama Constitution of 2022. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2022)
For the current Constitution of Alabama, see Constitution of Alabama.
Constitution of the State of Alabama
Overview
Jurisdiction
Alabama, United States
Ratified
21 November 1901; 122 years ago (1901-11-21)[1]
Date effective
28 November 1901; 122 years ago (1901-11-28)
History
Repealed
28 November 2022; 17 months ago (2022-11-28)
Amendments
977
Signatories
see Constitution, source pages 61-62
Full text
Alabama State Constitution of 1901 at Wikisource
The Constitution of the State of Alabama of 1901 was the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. Adopted in 1901 and renamed in 2022, it is Alabama's sixth constitution.
At 388,882 words,[2] the document was 12 times longer than the average state constitution, 51 times longer than the U.S. Constitution, and, at the time of its repeal, the longest[3] and most amended[4] constitution operative anywhere in the world. The English version of the Constitution of India, the longest national constitution in the world, is about 145,000 words long, less than 40% of the length of Alabama's (was formerly about one-third, with both expanding over time).
By the time of its renaming, about 90 percent of the document's length was made up of 977[5] separate amendments (for comparison, the 105 amendments[6][7] to the Constitution of India form none of the latter's text, as they modify the main body's wording directly rather than being appended to it). About 75 percent of the amendments covered individual counties or cities, and some were so detailed as to deal with salaries of specific officials (e.g. Amendment 480 and the Greene County probate judge). As a result, Alabama had a very high number of constitutional officers. The constitution made it very difficult for residents of most counties to solve their own problems as the limited home rule required them to ask the state legislature to make amendments to the constitution or pass special legislation in order to carry out desired activities.[8]
The Constitutional Convention was called with the intention by southern Democrats of the state "within the limits imposed by the Federal Constitution, to establish white supremacy in this State".[9] Its provisions essentially disenfranchised most African Americans and thousands of poor white Europeans, who were excluded from voting until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The constitution also gave the Alabama Legislature the power to administer most counties directly, with only a few counties having even limited home rule, further entrenching disfranchisement by limiting local autonomy.
The Preamble says:
We the people of the State of Alabama, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution and form of government for the State of Alabama.
^"Constitution of the State of Alabama of 1901 - Ratification". www.legislature.state.al.us.
^"GENERAL INFORMATION ON STATE CONSTITUTIONS" (PDF). Knowledge Center. January 1, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
^"Alabama Simmers Before Vote on Its Constitution’s Racist Language", New York Times, 31 October 2012
^Krishnamurthi, Vivek (2009). "Colonial Cousins: Explaining India and Canada's Unwritten Constitutional Principles" (PDF). Yale Journal of International Law. 34 (1): 219. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
^"Constitution of Alabama 1901". alisondb.legislature.state.al.us. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
^"Amendments | National Portal of India". www.india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
^"One Hundred and Fourth Amendment" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-02-23.
^Albert P. Brewer, "Home Rule", Encyclopedia of Alabama, 2007, accessed 3 February 2015
^Day 2 of 54, 1901 Proceedings, Constitutional Convention
and 27 Related for: Alabama Constitution of 1901 information
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African-Americans. The 1901Constitution changed the name of the General Assembly to the Alabama Legislature. (Amendment 427 to the AlabamaConstitution designated...
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is the Constitutionof Vermont, adopted in 1793 and currently 8,295 words long. The longest was Alabama's sixth constitution, ratified in 1901, about...
Johnson and Braxton Bragg Comer. He also opposed ratifying the AlabamaConstitutionof1901, which was "[w]ritten primarily to codify white supremacy by...
investments of state funds. The position was created in 1819 when Alabama became a state. Its constitution established the Office of the Treasurer of State...
dating back to the Alabama Territory. From 1819 to 1901, the secretary of state served a two-year term until the State Constitution was changed to set...
2000 Alabama Amendment 2, also known as the Alabama Interracial Marriage Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the ConstitutionofAlabama to remove Alabama's...
Alabama Recompiled Constitution Ratification Question was held to amend the ConstitutionofAlabama, replacing it with a more modern version drafted to...
amendment to the ConstitutionofAlabamaof1901, to amend Article VIII of the ConstitutionofAlabamaof1901, now appearing as Section 177 of the Official...
of Alabama". Alabama Legislature. 1901. "Constitutionof the State ofAlabama". Alabama Legislature. 1875. "Constitutionof the State ofAlabama". Alabama...
Smith, was the son of former Alabama governor William Hugh Smith. 1901AlabamaConstitution article V, § 114. 1868 AlabamaConstitution, article V, § 2....
June 6, 2022 Warren, Sarah A. (March 8, 2011), "AlabamaConstitutionof1901", Encyclopedia ofAlabama, retrieved August 22, 2023, Democrats feared losing...
upon the adoption of the AlabamaConstitution in 1901. Position of lieutenant governor was eliminated in 1875, effective at the end of the then-present...
Urquía. This constitution was used as template for the 1901Constitution. The 1901Constitution, was Cuba's first as an independent state. It incorporated...
government ofAlabama is organized under the provisions of the 2022 ConstitutionofAlabama. Like other states within the United States, Alabama's government...
The constitutionof the U.S. state ofAlabama grants its legislature the ability to impeach and remove certain officials. An impeachment vote in the Alabama...
victory in the 1901 season came in the first game of the season against South Carolina. The two ties came against Auburn and Alabama. The season also...
Global Information
Alabama State Constitution of 1901 at Wikisource