About this Item
A great rarity of Colorado political and printing history, these two issues of the Rocky Mountain News contain the full text of the constitution of the "State [actually Territory] of Jefferson," the political entity that preceded the formation of the Colorado Territory by two years, and the proceedings of the convention to form a provisional government for the territory. They therefore contain the earliest framework of government for what is now Colorado. As Colorado imprints, they are preceded only by the previous twelve issues of the newspaper, a single issue of another paper, and a broadside printing of the laws of the Gregory Mining District. The Territory of Jefferson comprised Arapahoe County in the Kansas Territory, covering almost exactly the same area as the present-day state of Colorado. The Pike's Peak Gold Rush of the late 1850s brought an influx of settlers to the region, and the inhabitants felt the need to have a closer, more responsive government than those in Kansas. A convention was held in April 1859 in Auraria, and a constitutional convention was planned for June. The convention concluded its work in August 1859, creating the constitution printed in this August 20 issue of the Rocky Mountain News. The proceedings of the convention are covered in the October 20 issue, also present here. Citizens of the region voted to organize as a territory instead of a state and sent Beverly Johnson as a representative to the United States Congress, which refused his petition for recognition. The constitution of the Territory of Jefferson was adopted on October 24, 1859, and the new government ruled the territory for some fifteen months, until the U.S. Congress created the Colorado Territory in January 1861. Although extralegal, the government of the Territory of Jefferson coexisted peacefully with the official institutions, passing laws regarding taxation and other matters and governing some 35,000 citizens. The text of the constitution printed here, taking up virtually the entire first and second pages of the newspaper, lays out the basic framework for the government of the Territory of Jefferson. It begins with a preamble in which "We, the people of the Gold Regions of the Rocky Mountains" lay out the boundaries of the territory, before moving on to a Bill of Rights. Included are an affirmation that power rests in the hands of the people, provisions for religious freedom, freedom of speech and of the press, right to trial by jury, protections from unreasonable searches, and more. These are followed by an article giving the vote to White males over age twenty-one, and articles spelling out the power and responsibilities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Other articles address the issues of state debt, the militia, education, and the apportionment of the first General Assembly of the Territory. The proceedings of the convention to form the provisional government of the Territory of Jefferson were printed by the Rocky Mountain News two months later, in its twenty-second issue. This issue also contains the first printing of the eight articles of the "Constitution of the Provisional Government of Jefferson Territory." Both constitutions are silent on the question of slavery. In its proceedings, the leaders of the provisional government explain the need for the organization as a territory and the establishment of local rule: "The laws of Kansas do not extend over us until the Indian title to the lands is extinguished.We have no Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction or of Appeal.Pending the action of Congress in our case we have no protection for life or property but the code of Lynch Law.It now becomes the duty of every good citizen who has the interest of his country at heart, to support the Government so formed, as it is our only resource against anarchy and confusion, and our only protection for life and property." The Territory of Jefferson was never recognized by the federal government, though it existed an.
Seller Inventory # 66773
Contact seller
Report this item
