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Ohio was created from the easternmost portion of the Northwest Territory . In 1787 , the United States Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance , establishing a territorial government and providing that " {Link without Title} here shall be formed in the said territory, not less than three nor more than five states." The Ordinance prohibited Slavery and provided for Freedom Of Worship , the right of '' Habeas Corpus '' and trial by Jury , and the right to make Bail except for capital offenses. Ohio courts have noted that the Northwest Ordinance "was ever considered as the fundamental law of the territory." ''Ludlow's Heirs v. Johnston'' ( 1828 ), 3 Ohio 553, 555; ''State v. Bob Manashian Painting'' ( 2002 ), 121 Ohio Misc.2d 99, 103. 1802 Constitution The Ohio territory's population grew steadily in the 1790s and early 1800s. Congress passed an enabling bill to establish a new state, which President Thomas Jefferson signed into law on April 30 , 1802 . A state Constitutional Convention was held in November 1802 in Chillicothe, Ohio , and it adopted what became known as the 1802 Constitution. Largely due to the perception that territorial governor Arthur St. Clair had ruled heavy-handedly, the constitution provided for a "weak" governor and judiciary, and vested virtually all power in a Bicameral Legislature , known as the General Assembly. Congress accepted the constitution and approved statehood; on February 19 , 1803 , President Jefferson signed the bill into law. It provided that Ohio "had become one of the United States of America," and that Federal law "shall have the same force and effect within the said State of Ohio, as elsewhere within the United States." The first General Assembly first met in Chillicothe, the new State Capital , on March 1 , 1803 . This has come to be considered the date of Ohio statehood. 1851 Constitution By law, Ohio voters are asked every twenty years whether a new constitutional convention should be called. In the early decades of statehood, it became clear that the General Assembly was disproportionately powerful as compared to the executive and judicial branches. Much of state business was conducted through Private Bills , and partisan squabbling greatly reduced the ability of state government to do its work. The legislature widely came to be perceived as corrupt, subsidizing private companies and granting special privileges in corporate charters. State Debt also exploded between 1825 and 1840 . A new constitution, greatly redressing the Checks And Balances of power, was drafted by a convention in 1850-51, as directed by the voters, and subsequently adopted in a statewide Referendum on June 17 , 1851 , taking effect on September 1 of that year. A constitutional convention in 1873 , chaired by future Chief Justice Of The United States Morrison R. Waite , proposed a new constitution that would have provided for annual sessions of the legislature, a Veto for the governor which could be overridden by a three-fifths vote of each house, establishment of state Circuit Court s, eligibility of women for election to School Board s, and restrictions on municipal debt. It was soundly defeated by the voters in August 1873 . 1912 Constitution In the Progressive Era , pent-up demand for reform led to the convening of another constitutional convention in 1912 . The delegates were generally progressive in their outlook, and noted Ohio historian George W. Knepper wrote, "It was perhaps the ablest group ever assembled in Ohio to consider state affairs." Several national leaders addressed the convention, including President William Howard Taft , an Ohioan; former president (and Bull Moose Party candidate) Theodore Roosevelt ; three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan ; California 's progressive governor Hiram Johnson ; and Ohio's own reform-minded governor, Judson Harmon . Recalling how the 1873 convention's work had all been for naught, the 1912 convention drafted and submitted to the voters a series of amendments to the 1851 Constitution. The amendments expanded the state's bill of rights, provided for voter-led Initiative And Referendum , established Civil Service protections, and granted the governor a Line-item Veto in appropriation bills. Other amendments empowered the legislature to fix the hours of labor, establish a Minimum Wage and a Workers Compensation system, and address a number of other progressive measures. A Home Rule amendment was proposed for Ohio cities with populations over 5,000. On September 3 , 1912 , despite strong conservative opposition, voters adopted 33 of the 41 proposed amendments. It was so sweeping a change to the 1851 Constitution that most legal scholars consider it to have become a new "1912 Constitution." Among the eight losing proposed amendments were female Suffrage , the use of Voting Machine s, the regulation of outdoor Advertising and abolition of the Death Penalty . Voters also rejected a proposal to strike the word "white" from the 1851 Constitution's definition of voter eligibility. Although blacks could vote in Federal elections in Ohio due to the Fifteenth Amendment , the color bar for voting in state elections was not abolished until 1923 . 1951 Constitution With the tremendous growth of the state's population, and the strains and exigencies of the Great Depression and both World War I and World War II , it became clear that the 1851 Constitution was inadequate to the needs of a modern state government. A fifth constitutional convention drafted a new constitution, which was duly adopted by state voters, taking effect on September 1 , 1951 . With numerous amendments, the 1951 Constitution remains the basic law of the state to this day. It has one of the shortest Preamble s of any state constitution: ''We, the people of the State of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our Freedom , to secure its blessings and promote our general welfare, do establish this Constitution.'' The current state constitution contains the following articles:
The Ohio Constitution's Bill of Rights is substantially similar to its Federal counterpart, but also includes the right to alter, reform or abolish government; rights of Conscience and education; rights for victims of crime; a prohibition of imprisonment for debt; and the right to payment of damages for Wrongful Death . WAS OHIO NOT PROPERLY ADMITTED AS A STATE? It has been suggested from time to time that Ohio was never properly admitted as a state due to some supposed defect in the legal process. This would indicate that the numerous Ohioans who served as President Of The United States did so illegally, as they were not U.S. citizens. A second statehood bill was passed by Congress and signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower , mostly tongue-in-cheek, in time for the state Sesquicentennial in 1953 . Claims that Ohio was not properly admitted are thought by most historians and legal scholars to be spurious, however, and have always been rejected by Federal and state courts (often in cases brought by Tax Protest ors). See, e.g., ''Lewingdon v. Celeste'' 810 F.2d 201 ( 6th Cir. 1986 ); ''State v. Bob Manashian Painting,'' ''supra,'' 121 Ohio Misc.2d at 104; and ''Knoblauch v. Commissioner'', 749 F.2d 200, 85-1 U.S. Tax. Cas. (CCH) paragr. 9109 (5th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 830 (1985). EXTERNAL LINKS
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