The
Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the
U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the
United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any government in the world. All U.S. state constitutions are subject to
federal judicial review; any provision can be nullified if it conflicts with
federal law or the
US Constitution.
The constitution has been regularly amended, beginning with an amendment approved in the same election in which it was ratified.Goble, Danny, ","
(accessed June 23, 2010).
History
From 1890 onward, the land that now forms the State of Oklahoma was made up of the
Oklahoma Territory (to the west), and the
Indian Territory (to the east). Indian Territory, as its name suggests, had a large Native American population; the territory itself had been reduced over time to its then size.
The movement to secure statehood for Indian Territory began in 1902 with a
convention in
Eufaula, consisting of representatives of the "
Five Civilized Tribes". The representatives met again in 1903 to organize a
constitutional convention.
The
Sequoyah Constitutional Convention met in
Muskogee, on August 21, 1905. General
Pleasant Porter, Principal Chief...
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