Antebellum State Constitutions: 1812, 1845 and 1852

Constitution of 1812

To be admitted to the Union, a state must submit a proposed constitution to the United States Congress for approval. As mentioned in a previous article, there were some in the U.S. Congress that did not feel like Louisiana was ready for admittance to the Union. After all, Louisianians had not had experience with democracy, and most spoke French rather than English.

Louisianians felt that whatever they submitted to the Congress would likely be unfairly treated. Therefore, the convention to draw up the first state constitution decided to copy the constitution of another state already in the union. The convention chose Kentucky's constitution. Kentucky had recently been admitted to the union without their constitution being questioned. Louisiana adopted Kentucky's state constitution with only minor changes.

The major provisions included:

• An aristocratic preamble reading "We the representatives of the people . . ." rather than "We the people . . .."

• A governor not directly elected by the people. Provisions were made for an election, but the legislature would select the governor from the two highest vote getters.

• To vote, a person had to pay a certain amount in taxes.

• To hold office, a person had to own a certain amount of land.

• The governor appointed all state officials and judges.

The provisions of the Constitution of 1812 made it possible for the middle and upper classes to effectively control Louisiana government and politics.

Constitution of 1845

By the 1830s, the population of Louisiana had changed in characteristics. There were more Anglos, especially in the north. By their numbers they could exercise more influence in state affairs against the southern plantation class.

Senator John Slidell and the north Louisiana Democrats pushed for a new constitution that would be more democratic than the 1812 document.

Another constitutional convention was called and produced the Constitution of 1845. This new constitution reflected the national trend toward a more democratic system of government.

Major changes from 1812 included:

• The legislature was made larger with new seats going to north Louisiana.

• There was a compromise over how people would be counted to determine population for districting. The Democrats had wanted only registered voters counted. The south Louisiana Whigs and plantation owners had wanted the total population, including slaves, counted. This obviously would benefit the plantation class. The compromise provided that state Senate districts would be based on total population and that the state House of Representatives would be based on registered voters.

• The preamble was changed to begin "We the people . . .."
  The copyright of the article Antebellum State Constitutions: 1812, 1845 and 1852 in Louisiana is owned by Kathryn Morse. Permission to republish Antebellum State Constitutions: 1812, 1845 and 1852 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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