No trustee shall receive any pay or emolument, other than his actual expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties as such. 19. All grants and commissions shall be issued in the name and by the authority of the State of Alabama, sealed with the great seal, and signed by the governor, and countersigned by the secretary of state. Section 1. 5. All elections by the people shall be by ballot, and all elections by persons in a representative capacity shall be viva voce. The governor shall, except as otherwise provided herein, be commander-in-chief of the militia and volunteer forces of the state, except when in the service of the United States, and shall, with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint all general officers, whose terms of office shall be for four years. Sec. An attorney-general shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and places of election of members of the general assembly, whose term of office shall be for two years, and until his successor is elected and qualified. 7. The judges of such inferior courts of law and equity as may be by law established, shall be elected or appointed in such mode as the general assembly may prescribe. A member of either house expelled for corruption shall not thereafter be eligible to either house, and punishment for contempt or disorderly behavior shall not bar an indictment for the same offense. Sec. 3. 8. Sec. Sec. That no person shall be accused, or arrested, or detained, except in cases ascertained by law, and according to the forms which the same has prescribed; and no person shall be punished, but by virtue of a law established and promulgated prior to the offense, and legally applied. 27. 7. Sec. Sec. The general appropriation bill shall embrace nothing but appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state, interest on the public debt, and for the public schools; all other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each embracing but one subject. 19. In the year 1880, at the general election for members to the general assembly, sheriffs shall be elected for four years as herein provided. Sec. Sec. Vacancies in the office of any of the judges or chancellors of this state shall be filled by appointment by the governor; and such appointee shall hold his office for the unexpired term, and until his successor is elected or appointed and qualified. 13. Section 1. 8. The governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 8. 2. Each house shall choose its own officers, and shall judge of the election, returns, and qualifications of its members. 24. Sec. After the ratification of this Constitution, no new debt shall be created against, or incurred by, this state, or its authority, except to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, and then only by a concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each house of the general assembly, and the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered on the journals; and any act creating or incurring any new debt against this state, except as herein provided for, shall be absolutely void; provided, the governor may be authorized to negotiate temporary loans, never to exceed one hundred thousand dollars, to meet deficiencies in the treasury; and until the same is paid, no new loan shall be negotiated; provided, further, that this section shall not be so construed as to prevent the issuance of bonds in adjustment of existing state indebtedness. And every vote, order, or resolution, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary (except questions of adjournment, and of bringing on elections by the two houses, and of amending this Constitution), shall be presented to the governor, and, before the same shall take effect, be approved by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by both houses according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. Sec. 35. Any association or corporation organized for the purpose shall have the right to construct and operate a railroad between any points in this state, and to connect, at the state line, with railroads of other states. Sec. The style of all process shall be “The State of Alabama,” and all prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the same, and shall conclude, “Against the peace and dignity of the state.”. The judges of the supreme court, circuit courts, and chancellors, and the judges of city courts, shall have been citizens of the United States and of this state for five years next preceding their election or appointment, and shall be not less than twenty-five years of age, and learned in law. Sec. Sec. The governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, and attorney-general shall be elected by the qualified electors of this state, at the same time and places appointed for the election of members of the general assembly. Sec. 3. 20. The general assembly shall pass general laws, under which local and private interests shall be provided for and protected. Sec. A member of the general assembly who shall corruptly solicit, demand, or receive, or consent to receive, directly or indirectly, for himself, for another, from any company, corporation, or person, any money, office, appointment, employment, reward, thing of value or enjoyment, or of personal advantage, or promise thereof, for his vote or official influence, or for withholding the same; or with an understanding, expressed or implied, that his vote or official action shall be in any way influenced thereby; or who shall solicit or demand any such money or other advantage, matter, or thing aforesaid, for another, as the consideration of his vote or official influence, or for withholding the same; or shall give or withhold his vote or influence, in consideration of the payment or promise of such money, advantage, matter, or thing, to another shall be guilty of bribery within the meaning of this Constitution, and shall incur the disabilities provided thereby for such offense, and such additional punishment as is, or shall be, provided by law. Image of Benjamin Fitzpatrick, President of the 1865 Constitutional Convention. That the board of education of this state is hereby abolished. Sec. ALCOS Social Studies Content Standard Grade(s): 4, 5, 7 (Civics), 10, 12 (US Government) Read More Sec. Sec. 28. Sec. Sec. Section 3 - Religious freedom. 32. Sec. Senators and representatives shall be elected by the qualified electors, on the first Monday in August, eighteen hundred and seventy-six; and one-half of the senators and all the representatives shall be elected every two years thereafter, unless the general assembly shall change the time of holding elections. 7. The state shall not be a stockholder in any bank, nor shall the credit of the state ever be given or loaned to any banking company, association, or corporation. The general assembly shall have the power to alter, revoke, or amend any charter of incorporation now existing, and revocable at the ratification of this Constitution, or any that may hereafter be created, whenever, in their opinion, it may be injurious to the citizens of the state; in such manner, however, that no injustice shall be done to the corporators. Sec. That all men are equally free and independent; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 7. 42. The 1875 Constitution occurred in the context of "redemption" from ~econstruction.~ It was a reactionary document designed to over- come what whites perceived as the excesses of radical republican^.^ It was drafted the year after white conservative Democrats recaptured gubernatorial power from the … The general assembly shall establish, organize, and maintain a system of public schools throughout the state, for the equal benefit of the children thereof between the ages of seven and twenty-one years; but separate schools shall be provided for the children of citizens of African descent. Sec. 15. Holders of bank notes, and depositors who have not stipulated for interest, shall, for such notes and deposits, be entitled, in case of insolvency, to the preference of payment over all other creditors. Sec. Sec. Senators shall be at least twenty-seven years of age, and representatives twenty-one years of age; they shall have been citizens and inhabitants of this state for three years, and inhabitants of their respective counties or districts one year next before their election, if such county or district shall have been so long established; but if not, then of the county or district from which the same shall have been taken; and they shall reside in their respective counties or districts during their terms of service. 4. Sec. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators, to be appointed by the parties who may choose that mode of adjustment. Alabama has had six constitutions to date, all established via State Conventions: 1819 (Converting Alabama Territory into a State), 1861 (Secession), 1865 (Reconstruction), 1868 (Ending reconstruction), 1875 and the current 1901 constitution. A member of the general assembly, who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill, proposed or pending before the general assembly, shall disclose the fact to the house of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon. Sec. 6. 3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and cause the same to be published immediately after its adjournment, excepting such parts as, in its judgment, may require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-tenth of the members present, be entered on the journals. Sec. Sec. Sec. Native Democrats rallied their forces, and overthrew the Republican government. The governor may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place, if, since their last adjournment, that shall have become dangerous from an enemy, or from infectious or contagious diseases; and he shall state specifically in such proclamation each matter concerning which the action of that body is deemed necessary. Sec. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Sec. It shall be the duty of the general assembly, at its first session after the ratification of this Constitution, and within every subsequent period of ten years, to make provision by law for the revision, digesting, and promulgation of the public statutes of this state of a general nature, both civil and criminal. LONG, CHARLES C. LANGDON, F. S. LYON, HENRY A. WOOLF, WM. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. Clerks of the circuit court shall be elected by the qualified electors in each county for the term of six years. That no person shall be debarred from prosecuting or defending, before any tribunal in this state, by himself or counsel, any civil cause to which he is a party. The style of the laws of this state shall be: “Be it enacted by the general assembly of Alabama.” Each law shall contain but one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, except general appropriation bills, general revenue bills, and bills adopting a Code, digest, or revision of statutes; and no law shall be revived, amended, or the provisions thereof extended or conferred, by reference to its title only; but so much thereof as is revived, amended, extended, or conferred shall be reenacted and published at length. It is made the duty of the general assembly to enact all laws necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Constitution. Sec. The president of the senate and speaker of the house of representatives shall, during the time they respectively administer the government, receive the same compensation which the governor would have received if he had been employed in the duties of his office; provided, that if the general assembly shall be in session during such absence, they, or either of them, shall receive no compensation as members of the general assembly while acting as governor. Sec. WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION •Black’s Law Dictionary-”The organic and fundamental law of a nation or state, which may be written or unwritten, establishing the character and conception of its government, laying the basic principles to which its internal life is to conformed, organizing the government, and regulating, distributing, and limiting the functions of its Sec. 27. 18. 15. M. LOWE, S. S. SCOTT, CHARLES GIBSON, THOMAS H. HERNDON, JESSE E. BROWN, DAVID S. NOWLIN, JOHN H. NORWOOD MONTGOMERY GILBREATH, Attest: BENJ. 17. The executive department shall consist of a governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, attorney-general, and superintendent of education, and a sheriff for each county. No law hereafter enacted shall create, renew, or extend the charter of more than one corporation. That treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort; and that no person shall be convicted of treason, except on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or his own confession in open court. That no form of slavery shall exist in this state; and there shall be no involuntary servitude, otherwise than for the punishment of crime, of which the party shall have been duly convicted. Sec. 24. Sec. 8. Should the decennial census of the United States, from any cause, not be taken, or if, when taken, the same as to this state is not full and satisfactory, the general assembly shall have power, at its first session after the time shall have elapsed for the taking of said census, to provide for an enumeration of all the inhabitants of this state, and once in each ten years thereafter, upon which it shall be the duty of the general assembly to make the apportionment of representatives and senators, as provided in this article. George S. Houston Houston served as governor of Alabama from 1874 to 1878. Sec. 21. At the first session of the general assembly after the ratification of this Constitution, the salaries of the following officers shall be reduced at least twenty-five per centum, viz. 24. The right of exemptions hereinbefore secured may be waived by an instrument in writing, and when such waiver relates to realty, the instrument must be signed by both the husband and the wife, and attested by one witness. 6. 3. Sec. If in any case, civil or criminal, pending in any circuit, chancery, or city court in this state, the presiding judge or chancellor shall, for any legal cause, be incompetent to try, hear, or render judgment in such cause, the parties or their attorneys of record, if it be a civil case, or the solicitor or other prosecuting officer, and the defendant or defendants, if it be a criminal case, may agree upon some disinterested person practicing in the court and learned in the law, to act as special judge or chancellor, to sit as a court, and to hear, decide, and render judgment in the same manner and to the same effect as a judge of the circuit or city court, or chancellor sitting as a court might do in such case. SECTION 2 People source of power. In order that no injury or inconvenience may arise from the alterations and amendments made by this Constitution to the existing Constitution of this state, and to carry this Constitution into effect, it is hereby ordained and declared-. The governor shall, from time to time, give to the general assembly information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient; and, at the commencement of each session of the general assembly, and at the close of his term of office, give information, by written message, of the condition of the state; and he shall account to the general assembly, as may be prescribed by law, for all moneys received and paid out by him, from any funds subject to his order, with the vouchers therefor; and he shall, at the commencement of each regular session, present to the general assembly estimates of the amount of money required to be raised by taxation for all purposes. It was replaced by the Alabama Constitution of 1875, which rolled back the more progressive elements of the 1868 Constitution, signaling the collapse of Reconstruction. No local or special law shall be passed on a subject which can not be provided for by a general law, unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have been published in the locality where the matter or thing to be affected may be situated; which notice shall be at least twenty days prior to the introduction into the general assembly of such bill, and the evidence of such notice having been given shall be exhibited to the general assembly before such bill shall be passed; provided, that the provisions of this Constitution, as to special or local laws, shall not apply to public or educational institutions of or in this State, nor to industrial, mining, immigration, or manufacturing corporations or interests or corporations for constructing canals or improving navigable rivers or harbors of this state. 6. The whole number of senators shall be not less than one-fourth or more than one-third the whole number of representatives. Sec. Sec. Each company and regiment shall elect its own company and regimental officers; but if any company or regiment shall neglect to elect such officers within the time prescribed by law, they may be appointed by the governor. J. BURTON, B. F. JOHNSON, ALBURTO MARTIN, R. C. TORREY, M. T. AKERS, ALBERT W. PLOWMAN, WM. Sec. The powers of the government of the State of Alabama shall be divided into three distinct departments, each of which shall be confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit: Those which are legislative, to one; those which are executive, to another; and those which are judicial, to another. In the event of annexation of any foreign territory to this state, the general assembly shall enact laws extending to the inhabitants of the acquired territory all the rights and privileges which may be required by the terms of the acquisition, anything in this Constitution to the contrary notwithstanding. When the general assembly shall be convened in special session, there shall be no legislation upon subjects other than those designated in the proclamation of the governor calling such session. 13. Sec. Constitution Of Alabama SECTION 1 Equality and rights of men. 10. 36. No corporation shall engage in any business other than that expressly authorized in its charter. Any member of either house shall have liberty to dissent from, or protest against, any act or resolution which he may think injurious to the public or an individual, and have the reasons for his dissent entered on the journals. Sec. Sec. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide. Sec. The state shall be divided by the general assembly into convenient circuits, not to exceed eight in number, unless increased by a vote of two-thirds of the members of each house of the general assembly, and no circuit shall contain less than three nor more than twelve counties; and for each circuit there shall be chosen a judge, who shall, for one year next preceding his election, and during his continuance in office, reside in the circuit for which he is elected. Sec. Volunteer organizations of infantry, cavalry, and artillery may be formed in such manner, and under such restrictions, and with such privileges, as may be provided by law. The general assembly may, whenever two-thirds of each house shall deem it necessary, propose amendments to this Constitution, which, having been read on three several days in each house, shall be duly published in such manner as the general assembly may direct, at least three months before the next general election for representatives, for the consideration of the people; and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers, at the next general election which shall be held for representatives, to open a poll for the vote of the qualified electors on the proposed amendments, and to make return of said vote to the secretary of state; and, if it shall thereupon appear that a majority of all qualified electors of the state, who voted at said election, voted in favor of the proposed amendments, said amendments shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as parts of this Constitution; and the result of such election shall be made known by proclamation of the governor. 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