1. Deep in the waters of Puget Sound, high on Mount Rainier, & over on the Palouse, lies Washington State’s constitutional order. On #50Weeks50Constitutions we take a peek at the state’s one constitution & how it came into port.
2. As we saw with Oregon, in the eyes of the US government the Pacific NW had poorly defined sovereignty until the British ceded any claims in 1846. The Territory of Washington was formed in 1853 & then Congress fiddled w/ its borders a few times.
3. Shortly after the Civil War the territorial legislature pushed for statehood, but the few settlers weren’t interested. After some failed votes, the people finally agreed to give it a go. In 1878, 17 delegates met in Walla Walla to write a constitution.
4. The draft constitution banned special legislation, had requisite anti-Catholic language of the time, gave lots of space to public education, & put women’s suffrage to a separate vote. The people ratified the constitution itself, but rejected allowing females in the electorate.
5. Congress, in turn, rejected the constitution (& statehood). Washingtonians would have to wait another decade for a chance of statehood again, which arose in the flood of new states in 1889. This led to another convention, this time in Olympia.
6. The 75 delegates received a gift when they began work—a draft constitution already written for them! This was the work of W. Lair Hill, a lawyer & newspaper editor of Portland’s Oregonian. Much of the resulting document was taken from Hill’s. 
7. But many other sources contributed. Overall, parts of the Washington Constitution came from Oregon’s (which Hill borrowed heavily from) & California’s constitutions, as well as Wisconsin’s, Missouri’s, Colorado’s, & Indiana’s, to count just a few.
8. “Populist” is a word often connected w/ the Washington Constitution. Delegates took pains to reduce the influence of big business, protecting against special legislation & monopolies. They also barred “privileges or immunities” not given equally to citizens or corporations.
9. The constitution had a 4th Amendment analog, as almost all states do, but it was worded very differently & has been interpreted to protect privacy more strictly than the 4th: “No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.”
10. There also were strong protections of “Absolute freedom of conscience”. And, with strike-breakers in the back of their minds, the delegates strongly protected the right to keep & bear arms while making it explicit the right did not extend to organizing “an armed body of men.”
11. The people overwhelmingly approved the draft, ready to get on with statehood. President Harrison then signed the proclamation welcoming Washington into the union.
12. Although Washington is well-known for initiative & referendum, constitutional changes can only be started in the legislature, & then voted on by the people. Even so, since 1889 the constitution has been amended over 100 times.
13. Sources:
lib.law.uw.edu/waconst/source…
digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewconten…
Meany, History of the State of Washington (1909)
lib.law.uw.edu/waconst/source…
digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewconten…
Meany, History of the State of Washington (1909)
