Iowa's Constitution

In 1838, the Wisconsin Territory was split into two, with the slightly more populated part of the territory to the west of the Mississippi River becoming the new Iowa Territory. Over the next six years, the territory’s population continued to grow, and, in 1844, the territorial legislature called a convention to draft a constitution for the aspiring state. However, when the territory presented its proposed constitution to Congress, Congress responded by proposing that, in exchange for its admission as a state, the proposed state give up a third of its land. Although the state boundaries outlined in the proposed constitution already represented just a portion of the larger Iowa Territory, an even smaller Iowa would leave more land for the admission of additional “free states” west of the Mississippi, bolstering northern interests in the escalating national conflict over slavery. In April 1845, Iowa voters rejected admission with Congress’s newly proposed borders, briefly ending the territory’s bid for statehood.

Later that year, Iowans called a second constitutional convention. Meeting over the course of just 15 days in May 1846, the convention drafted a new constitution. Although “[b]oth [draft constitutions] were drawn up according to the same general plan, and were composed of the same number of articles, dealing substantially with the same subjects,” the new document made several changes, including revising the state’s proposed boundaries to strike a compromise between the territory’s original proposal and Congress’s preferred boundaries. On August 3, 1846 the citizens of the territory cast their votes once more, ultimately ratifying the new document by a razor-thin margin (9,492 to 9,036). Several months later, having fulfilled the requirements for admission, President James K. Polk signed legislation making Iowa the 29th state in the Union. 

Iowa’s first constitution lasted just ten years before being replaced in 1857. The 1857 Constitution remains in effect today. Despite a requirement that a constitutional convention question be referred to voters every ten years, no convention has been successfully convened since the 1857 Constitutional Convention. If voters were to approve a convention call, the convention would have the ability to propose constitutional amendments or a new constitution, both of which would need to be submitted to voters for approval by a majority vote. The only other way to amend the constitution is by legislative referral. The legislature must approve proposed amendments in two successive legislative sessions and then submit them to voters for ratification by a majority vote.