Victor Fischer - Alaskas constitutional convention, Volume 1956
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In 1956, delegates gathered at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks to write a constitution for what became the forty-ninth state of the union. They produced a document that many have said was more distinctly appropriate to its time and place than any other state constitution.Victor Fischer, one of the delegates, describes this historic event. Celebrate the constitutions fiftieth anniversary and learn about the writing of this important document.
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National Municipal League State Constitutional Convention Studies Number Nine
Alaska's Constitutional Convention
Victor Fischer Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research University of Alaska
Published by University of Alaska Press 1975
Page ii
Cover: Mt. McKinley as seen from Constitution Hall, University of Alaska, site of Alaska's Constitutional Convention.
University of Alaska Press Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 Library of Congress No. 74-620165 ISBN 0-912006-02-1 Series ISEGR Report No. 46 $4.00
Page iii
FOREWORD
Although the contrasts between the hot summer of 1787 in Philadelphia and the cold winter of 1955-1956 in Fairbanks are obvious, there are similarities which make the Alaska Constitutional Convention of special significance in the saga of American constitution making. Both were characterized by a determination and a dedication to prepare a document of lasting importance, not just one of immediate expedience. The remoteness of Fairbanks was unique for a Twentieth Century conclave, and its sheer distance from the congested urban scene provided a perspective difficult to achieve in present day metropolitan civilization.
The actors in the Alaska Convention were much more inclined than is usually the case even with the most responsible public servants to reflect on what they were doing and how they were doing it. Consequently, as soon as the Alaska voters had approved their first constitution, those who had been involved in developing Alaska's state constitution began a series of efforts to provide assistance for future constitution draftsmen and revisors. There was a call for the preparation of materials which would have supplemented the background information prepared for the delegates and for analytical reports on the conduct of the conventions.
The National Municipal League and the Legislative Drafting Research Fund of Columbia University with financial support from
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The Ford Foundation was able in the late 1950's and early 1960's to go a long way in filling the need for additional background assistance. However, those concerned with state constitution making continued to insist that studies of individual conventions were also needed and encouraged the League to sponsor such studies. Finally these were made possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1967. The Alaska study, one of the first commissioned, is the only one in the series written by a convention delegate. Victor Fischer's roles in the forty-ninth state before, during and after the convention of 1955-1956 make this study of particular value.
It has been my good fortune to participate in many of the sessions which have reviewed successive drafts of the Fischer manuscript. This enabled me to appreciate the special importance of the Alaskan experience. In order to convey some of this feeling to the reader, I am including in the foreword comments made in these sessions by John E. Bebout, who served as a consultant to the convention and who has been a close observer and participant in most recent constitutional revision efforts:
An era in American history ended at 9:59 A.M., Alaska standard time, February 6, 1956. At that hour the Alaska Constitutional Convention adjourned after three months of work on a constitution for the fondly conceived State of Alaska.
Neither snow nor ice fog at 55 below zero, nor the long arctic nights had delayed any meeting of the convention or diverted the members for a moment from their appointed task...
A sense both of history and of destiny sat with the 55 delegates throughout their deliberations at Constitution Hall on the campus of the University of Alaska at College, just a few miles west of Fairbanks. Many factors contributed to this: the number 55, chosen in emulation of the 55-member Philadephia convention of 1787; the belief of Alaskans in the limitless future of their vast land and their pride in being the last of the pioneers of the old tradition; the personal dedication evidenced by the members of the convention; and the university setting which was conducive to the remarkable industry and concentration which they devoted to their work...
The constitution was literally written by the delegates in convention assembled. It was more truly a `do-it-yourself' convention on the part of the delegates than any other in modern times certainly in this century. It is hard to convince audiences in the lower 48 that this is so they simply don't understand the very high level of sophistication, intellectual competence, philosophic breadth, and practical experience represented by the 55 delegates, and they can hardly imagine how hard and single-mindly you Alaskans worked at the job.
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