history of ohio's constitution - icivics | free lesson
TRANSCRIPT
History of Ohio’s Constitution
Learning Objectives. Students will be able to:
Identify the problems that followed from the 1802 Ohio
Constitution
Explain how the 1851 Constitution addressed these
problems
Analyze maps to explain why the traveling Supreme
Court requirement became impractical
Describe the changes in how officials were selected
between 1802 and 1851
Time Needed: Two Class Periods
Materials Needed:
Student worksheets
Copy Instructions:
Reading (2 pages; class set)
Primary Source Activity (2 pages; class set)
Review Activities(3 pages; class set)
STEP BY STEP
Teacher’s Guide
ANTICIPATE by asking students if state constitutions can change. Why might they need to
change? What kind of changes might need to happen? How would change happen?
DISTRIBUTE the reading pages to each student.
READ through the sections on both pages as a class. Make sure to discuss challenges,
making sure that they understand the need for the changes in each area of
government
DISTRIBUTE the Primary Source Activity pages and review the instructions. You may have
students work through these constitutional excerpts as a class, in pairs, or
individually. Go over responses when this activity is completed.
DISTRIBUTE the activity pages to the class and explain that you will be going though them as a
class.
REVIEW the “Before and After” activity instructions. Give the students time to draw their
graphic organizers. Ask individual students to share their two images and explain
their thinking. Allow students to add detail to their own drawings at this time.
REVIEW the instructions for the “Adding On” activity with the class and give the students a
few minutes to complete. Read through the correct answers and explain that
women gained the write to vote nationally in 1920, the word “white was struck
from the text in 1923 (although Africans Americans had the right to vote nationally
when the 15th Amendment passed in 1870.
CONTINUE through the activities on the next page. Discuss student answers along the way.
DISTRIBUTE the “Problem? Solution!” activity page to each student. Read through the
instructions, reminding students to think about all the possible causes and effects.
You may choose to lead the class through the list together, have students work in
pairs or individually.
PROJECT the “Problem? Solution!” activity and solicit suggestions from the class. Have them
add connections that they missed to their worksheets.
CHECK IT OUT! Dig deeper with the Ohio Constitution and compare it to the U.S. Constitution with
the new iCivics Lesson: Comparative Constitutions– Ohio. © 2016 iCivics, Inc. You may copy, distribute, or transmit this work for noncommercial purposes only. This copyright notice or a legally valid equivalent such as “© 2016 iCivics Inc.” shall be included in all such copies, distributions or transmittals. All other rights reserved. Find this lesson and more at www.iCivics.org.
Name: History of Ohio’s Constitution
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Reading - Side A
Ohio 2.0: The Executive Branch
The 1802 Constitution only created offices of the governor and
the secretary of state, both selected by the General Assembly.
The powers of the governor were limited to issuing pardons,
filling official vacancies when the General Assembly wasn’t in
session, acting as commander-in-chief of the state militia, and
calling the General Assembly into session in extraordinary
situations.
Time for a Change?
It didn’t take too long for Ohioans to find some flaws in the
initial structure of the state government. A national economic
crisis hit in 1837, leaving many to blame their state government
and lack of economic policy. Early banks did not have many
rules to follow, so many were weak and collapsed—taking the
people’s money with them. This economic panic and the lessons
learned from governing the new state led many to support
constitutional reform. Another constitutional convention was
held and the state was presented with a new constitution in
1851. The new constitution aimed to address the lack of
balance between the branches of government, as well as issues
relating to state funding.
Why the branch imbalance? The
territorial governor Arthur St. Clair was not
very popular and was thought to rule with a
heavy hand. So many at the convention
wanted to prevent one power-hungry
executive being replaced with another.
The 1851 Constitution did not give much more power to the
governor, but it did expand the executive branch. The offices of
lieutenant governor, auditor, treasurer, and attorney general
were created—providing additional executive oversight and
guidance. These offices were no longer appointed by the
General Assembly, but elected by the people.
Since 1851 there have been plenty of
changes made to the Ohio Constitution.
But the change between 1802 and
1851 was bigger; it involved a
restructuring of the way the whole
state government worked!
Ohio 1.0
Before it was a state, Ohio was part of the Northwest Territory
and was governed under the Northwest Ordinance created in
1787. The Ordinance prohibited slavery, protected freedom of
worship, the right to a jury and a number of other basic rights.
Over the next 20 years, the population in the Ohio area grew
and, in 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed a bill allowing
for the establishment of a new state. Before it could be added
to the Union, this new state needed a new constitution, so a
convention was formed and got to work.
The 1802 Constitution created a state government with most of
the power in the hands of the legislature, called the General
Assembly. The governor and executive branch had very little
power, as did the judicial branch. With a constitution, the U.S.
Congress recognized Ohio as a state and President Jefferson
signed it into law. The first meeting of the General Assembly
was held in Chillicothe, Ohio’s first capital, on March 1, 1803.
This date is celebrated as Ohio’s birthdate.
Ohio 2.0: The Judicial Branch
The original constitution created a rather simple and streamlined judicial
system—a Supreme Court for the whole state and Courts of Common
Pleas within each county. The Supreme Court was required to meet at
least once a year in each of the nine counties that were established in
1802. In the nearly fifty years that followed, the number of counties
jumped up to 88! That’s a lot of travel!
To address the population growth and the growing demands on the
court, the 1851 Constitution created an additional level of district
courts to bridge the gap between the lower state courts and the
Supreme Court. Judges were no longer appointed by the General
Assembly, but elected by the people. The travel requirement was also
removed, allowing the Supreme Court to stay put.
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Reading - Side B
Name: History of Ohio’s Constitution Ohio 2.0: The Legislative Branch
The General Assembly was created to act as the main governmental
branch and held the majority of power in the state government. All
major officials (except the governor) were appointed by this branch
rather than elected by the people of the state. Laws were passed that
favored some citizens and companies over others. Their legislative
actions were unchecked by the other branches, and the General
Assembly soon gained the reputation of being corrupt.
In an effort to rebalance the three branches, the 1851 Constitution
stripped the General Assembly of many of their powers. They were no
longer given the power to appoint key executive officers and judges. The
legislature was no longer able to pass laws retroactively, nor were they
allowed to pass laws that did not apply to everyone equally. The General
Assembly maintained its “most powerful branch” status, but its authority
had been lessened in favor of the executive and judicial branches.
Ohio 2.0: Economic Policy
In the early years of the state, the government racked up a lot of debt.
Some debt is ok, but the General Assembly had used the public’s money
irresponsibly. One law passed by the General Assembly required the
state to provide financial aid to railroad, canal and other companies,
benefitting individual businessmen connected to the officials. So the
state government was investing in private businesses–if those businesses
failed, the state lost that investment. These kind of laws, risky
investments, and corruption helped spur calls for change.
The 1851 Constitution addressed the corruption and financial concerns
in a number of ways. It set a $750,000 limit on state debt. It also
required that money to be used for exactly what it was borrowed for.
In other words, if you borrow state money to build a bridge—you had
to build a bridge, not a new house for a corrupt legislator. Same for
taxes: if you raise tax money to create a school, you can’t use it for a
road. Poll taxes were outlawed and all property had to be taxed in a
uniform way.
Corruption: the practice of
using money and power to
unfairly influence
governmental officials
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Primary Source Activity - Side A
Name: History of Ohio’s Constitution Dealing with the Documents. Read each of the excerpts from the 1802 and 1851 constitutions and
answer the questions that follow on the next page.
On the Legislative Branch
1802 1851
Article I. Sec. 21. No money shall be drawn from
the treasury but in consequence of appropriation made by law.
Article II. Section 22. No money shall be drawn from
the treasury except in pursuance of a specific appropriation made by law; and no appropriation shall be
made for a longer period than two years.
(The 1802 Constitution has no mention of this.)
Article II. Section 26. All laws of a general nature,
shall have a uniform operation throughout the State; now shall any act, except such as relates to public
schools, be passed, to take effect upon the approval of any other authority than the General Assembly, except
as other provided in this constitution.
(The 1802 Constitution has no mention of this.)
Article II. Section 28. The General Assembly shall
have no power to pass retro-active laws, or laws impairing the obligation of contracts; but may, by
general laws, authorize courts to carry into effect, upon such terms as shall be just and equitable, the manifest
intention of parties, and officers, by curing omissions,
defects, and errors in instruments and proceedings, arising out of their want of conformity with the laws of
this State.
On the Executive & Judicial Branches
1802 1851
Article II. Section 1. The supreme executive power
of this State shall be vested in a Governor. Article II. Sec. 16. A secretary of State shall be
appointed by a joint ballot of the Senate and House of Representatives...
Article III. Section 1. The Executive Department shall
consist of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and an Attorney General, who
shall be chosen by the Electors of the State on the second Tuesday of October, and at the places of voting
for members of the General Assembly.
Article III. Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State,
both as to matters of law and equity, shall be vested in a Supreme Court, in Courts of Common Pleas for
each county, in Justices of the Peace, and in such other courts as the Legislature may, from time to
time, establish.
Article IV. Sec. 1. The judicial power of the State shall
be vested in a Supreme Court, in District Courts, Courts of Common Pleas, Courts of Probate, Justices of the
Peace, and in such other Courts inferior to the Supreme Court, in one or more counties, as the General Assembly,
may, from time to time, establish.
Article III. Sec. 8. The Judges of the Supreme
Court, the President and the Associate Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas shall be appointed by a joint
ballot of both Houses of the General Assembly...
Article IV. Sec. 9. A competent number of justices of
the peace shall be elected, by the electors, in each township in the several counties...
Article IV. Sec. 10. All judges, other than those provided for in the Constitution, shall be elected by the
electors of the judicial district for which they may be
created…
Article III. Section 10. The Supreme Court shall be
held once a year in each county, and the Courts of Common Pleas shall be holden in each county, at
such times and places, as shall be prescribed by law.
Article IV. Sec. 5. District courts shall be composed of
the Judges of the court of common pleas of the respective districts, and one of the Judges of the
supreme court, ..., and shall be held in each county therein, at least once in each year...
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© 2016 iCivics, Inc.
Name: History of Ohio’s Constitution Dealing with the Documents. Use excerpts from the last page to answer the questions below.
Primary Source Activity - Side B
Example 1: What two elements have been added to this rule about the General Assembly spending
state money? Why did the 1851 Constitution add these two details?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Examples 2 & 3: What two restrictions are being placed on the General Assembly in these excerpts?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 4: How did the Executive change in the 1851 Constitution? (Consider the who and the how.)
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 5: Which courts were added to the Ohio judicial system in 1851?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 6: Explain how the selection of judges and justices changed between 1802 and 1851.
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 7: How did the 1851 Constitution change the travel requirement of the state Supreme Court?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Reflect: Of the changes mentioned in this activity, which do you think had the greatest impact on how
the Ohio government functions and serves the people? Explain your answer thoroughly.
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
© 2016 iCivics, Inc.
History of Ohio’s Constitution Dealing with the Documents. Use excerpts from the last page to answer the questions below.
Primary Source Activity - Side B
1– it has to be for a SPECIFIC appropriation, 2– it can be made for no longer than two years.
The General Assembly gained a reputation for corruption and large state debt. This limited their
ability to abuse their power.
The General Assembly must pass laws that are uniform across the state. This means they can’t
pass laws that apply to some and not others. They are not allowed to pass laws retro-actively.
The offices of Lt. Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, and Attorney General to the branch. These
positions were elected, and the Secretary of state went from being appointed to elected as well.
The District Courts were added along with the Courts of Probate.
Originally, the judges and justices were appointed by both houses of the General Assembly. The
new constitution now requires them to be elected by the people they serve in their areas.
The Supreme Court was no longer required to travel to each county. Instead it created District
Courts that had judges from the Supreme Court and the Court of Common Pleas meet in the
counties.
Student answers will vary.
Example 1: What two elements have been added to this rule about the General Assembly spending
state money? Why did the 1851 Constitution add these two details?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Examples 2 & 3: What two restrictions are being placed on the General Assembly in these excerpts?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 4: How did the Executive change in the 1851 Constitution? (Consider the who and the how.)
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 5: Which courts were added to the Ohio judicial system in 1851?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 6: Explain how the selection of judges and justices changed between 1802 and 1851.
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Example 7: How did the 1851 Constitution change the travel requirement of the state Supreme Court?
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Reflect: Of the changes mentioned in this activity, which do you think had the greatest impact on how
the Ohio government functions and serves the people? Explain your answer thoroughly.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
**TEACHER GUIDE**
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities - Side A
Name: History of Ohio’s Constitution A. Before and After. Use the space below to draw the three branches in 1802 and again in 1851. You
can use scale (size), descriptions, and your artistic side to show the differences.
B. Adding On, Rather than Starting Over. In 1873 a new constitution was proposed, but the voters
of the state rejected it. Learning from that experience, leaders tried a different approach—amendments!
In 1912, voters adopted 33 of the 41 proposed amendments to the 1851 Constitution. Additional changes
and updates have occurred since 1912, but none at the scale of 1851 or 1912.
Read through a sample set of amendments proposed in 1912 and guess which ones passed (put an X) ,
leaving the rejected amendments blank.
____ Grant women the right to vote in the
state of Ohio ____ Expand the state’s bill of rights
Establish a minimum wage ____ Give the governor a line-item veto in
appropriation (spending) bills
____ Allow for voter-led initiatives and
referendums ____ Use voting machines in elections
____ Abolish the death penalty ____
Strike the word "white" from the 1851
Constitution's definition of voter
eligibility
____ Allow for home rule of municipalities
D. Maps! Use the two maps below to explain the reasoning behind changing the requirement that states
that the Ohio Supreme Court must meet in each county once a year.
1. Why did the 1802 traveling Supreme Court requirement make more sense at the time it was written?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What changed between the 1802 map and the 1851 map? How does this present a challenge to the
Ohio Supreme Court?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. How did the 1851 Constitution address this issue?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities - Side B
History of Ohio’s Constitution C. Brought to You By... Ohio officials were selected through different means over the history of the
state. Label each office with ELECTED or APPOINTED.
_________ Governor
_________ Secretary of State
_________ State Judges
_________ Members of the General
Assembly
_________ Governor
_________ Secretary of State and
other Executive Officials
_________ State Judges
_________ Members of the General
Assembly
Ohio
Counties
1851-Now
Name:
Did the 1851 Constitution increase or decrease the level of citizen impact on government? Explain your
answer.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities - Side C
Problem? Solution! Match a problem or challenge facing the Ohio government with the
solution provided in the 1851 Constitution. (Some problems may need more than one solution,
and some solutions solve more than one problem!)
Name: History of Ohio’s Constitution
Explain it! Take a close look at your messy matching and answer the questions below.
Which problem took the most solutions to try to solve?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Which solution seemed to solve the most problems.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities - Side A
**TEACHER GUIDE** History of Ohio’s Constitution A. Before and After. Use the space below to draw the three branches in 1802 and again in 1851. You
can use scale (size), descriptions, and your artistic side to show the differences.
Students’ answers will vary.
B. Adding On, Rather than Starting Over. In 1873 a new constitution was proposed, but the voters
of the state rejected it. Learning from that experience, leaders tried a different approach—amendments!
In 1912, voters adopted 33 of the 41 proposed amendments to the 1851 Constitution. Additional changes
and updates have occurred since 1912, but none at the scale of 1851 or 1912.
Read through a sample set of amendments proposed in 1912 and guess which ones passed (put an X) ,
leaving the rejected amendments blank.
____ Grant women the right to vote in the
state of Ohio ____ Expand the state’s bill of rights
____ Legislature can establish a minimum
wage ____
Give the governor a line-item veto in
appropriation (spending) bills
____ Allow for voter-led initiatives and
referendums ____ Use voting machines in elections
Abolish the death penalty ____ Strike the word "white" from the 1851
Constitution's definition of voter eligibility
____ Allow for home rule of municipalities
General Assembly
(Legislative Branch)
Executive Branch Governor & Sec. of State
Judicial Branch
Supreme Court &
Court of
Common Pleas
Little power, only
two positions
Traveling Supreme
Court, two levels
Few checks on legislative
power, holds great power
Executive Branch Governor, Sec. of State, NOW four
additional positions
G.A. appoints nearly all offices in other
branches
General Assembly
(Legislative Branch)
Judicial Branch Supreme Court,
NEW District Courts, Court of Common Pleas
Offices are now elected by the people
Supreme Court stays
put, new courts help
with demand
Governor still has few
powers, but the
branch has grown
D. Maps! Use the two maps below to help explain the reasoning behind changing the requirement that
states that the Ohio Supreme Court must meet in each county once a year.
There were significantly less counties to cover. In 1802 there were only nine counties to travel
to, so it seemed reasonable.
The number of counties grew from 9 to 88. Being forced to visit ALL the counties was nearly
impossible in a year’s time. It also limited how many cases could be heard from each county.
The Supreme Court was no longer required to travel. A new level of District Courts were created
to help with the cases before they reached the Supreme Court.
1. Why did the 1802 traveling Supreme Court requirement make more sense at the time it was written?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What changed between the 1802 map and the 1851 map? How does this present a challenge to the
Ohio Supreme Court?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. How did the 1851 Constitution address this issue?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
© 2016 iCivics, Inc. Lesson Activities - Side B
History of Ohio’s Constitution C. Brought to You By... Ohio officials were selected through different means over the history of the
state. Label each office with ELECTED or APPOINTED.
ELECTED
APPOINTED
APPOINTED
ELECTED
_________ Governor
_________ Secretary of State
_________ State Judges
_________ Members of the General
Assembly
ELECTED
ELECTED
ELECTED
ELECTED
_________ Governor
_________ Secretary of State and
other Executive Officials
_________ State Judges
_________ Members of the General
Assembly
Ohio
Counties
1851-Now
**TEACHER GUIDE**
Citizen power was increased because the people were able to directly elect more government
officials.
Did the 1851 Constitution increase or decrease the level of citizen impact on government? Explain.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
© 2016 iCivics, Inc.
Problem? Solution! Match a problem or challenge facing the Ohio government with the
solution provided in the 1851 Constitution. (Some problems may need more than one solution,
and come solutions solve more than one problem!)
History of Ohio’s Constitution
**TEACHER GUIDE**
The General Assembly was so powerful that it took four major changes to fix it: elected judicial and
executive officials, law-making restrictions, limits on debt levels and taxes, no retroactive laws.
Placing restrictions on the kind of laws the General Assembly could pass helped address three problems:
General Assembly being too powerful, citizen distrust of government, and unequal application of laws.
Explain it! Take a close look at your messy matching and answer the questions below.
Which problem took the most solutions to try to solve?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Which solution seemed to solve the most problems.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Lesson Activities - Side C