The Constitution of the State of Alabama of 1901 was the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. Adopted in 1901, it was Alabama's sixth constitution.
At 388,882 words, the document was 12 times longer than the average state constitution, 51 times longer than the U.S. Constitution, and, at the time of its repeal, the longest"Alabama Simmers Before Vote on Its Constitution’s Racist Language", New York Times, 31 October 2012 and most amended constitution operative anywhere in the world. The English version of the Constitution of India, the longest national constitution in the world, is about 145,000 words long, less than 40% of the length of Alabama's (was formerly about one-third, with both expanding over time).
By the time of its renaming, about 90 percent of the document's length was made up of 977 separate amendments (for comparison, the 106 amendments to the Constitution of India form none of the latter's text, as they modify the main body's wording directly rather than being appended to it). About 75 percent of the amendments covered individual counties or cities, and some were so detailed as to deal with salaries of specific officials (e.g. Amendment 480 pertaining to the Greene County probate judge). As a result, Alabama had a very high number of constitutional officers. The constitution made it very difficult for residents of most counties to solve their own problems as the limited home rule required them to ask the state legislature to make amendments to the constitution or pass special legislation in order to carry out desired activities.Albert P. Brewer, "Home Rule", Encyclopedia of Alabama, 2007, accessed 3 February 2015
The Constitutional Convention was called with the intention by southern Democrats of the state "within the limits imposed by the Federal Constitution, to establish white supremacy in this State".Day 2 of 54, 1901 Proceedings, Constitutional Convention Its provisions essentially disenfranchised most African Americans and thousands of poor White Americans, who were excluded from voting until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The constitution also gave the Alabama Legislature the power to administer most counties directly, with only a few counties having even limited home rule, further entrenching disfranchisement by limiting local autonomy.
The Preamble says: We the people of the State of Alabama, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution and form of government for the State of Alabama.
History
Prior to the 2022 constitution, Alabama has had six constitutions, all established via State Conventions: (converting Alabama Territory into a State), 1861 (Secession), 1865 (Reconstruction), 1868 (Reconstruction), 1875 (ending Reconstruction), and the 1901 document.
The referendum calling for the constitutional convention passed with the aid of widespread electoral fraud in the Black Belt. In 2020, columnist Bill Ivey called the result "one of the most consequential voter fraud incidents in U.S. history" due to the substantial long-term impact the Constitution has had.
Vote on ratifying the Constitution November 11, 1901 vote on ratification by countyCountyFor ConstitutionAgainst ConstitutionMarginTotal#%#%#% Autauga 905 49.59% 920 50.41% −15 −0.82% 1,825 Baldwin 508 55.10% 414 44.90% 94 10.20% 922 Barbour 2,905 72.16% 1,121 27.84% 1,784 44.31% 4,026 Bibb 1,210 53.68% 1,044 46.32% 166 7.36% 2,254 Blount 795 31.97% 1,692 68.03% −897 −36.07% 2,487 Bullock 962 63.21% 560 36.79% 402 26.41% 1,522 Butler 1,058 38.29% 1,705 61.71% −647 −23.42% 2,763 Calhoun 2,546 56.89% 1,929 43.11% 617 13.79% 4,475 Chambers 4,604 89.28% 553 10.72% 4,051 78.55% 5,157 Cherokee 508 26.05% 1,442 73.95% −934 −47.90% 1,950 Chilton 394 19.14% 1,664 80.86% −1,270 −61.71% 2,058 Choctaw 862 46.72% 983 53.28% −121 −6.56% 1,845 Clarke 1,448 76.53% 444 23.47% 1,004 53.07% 1,892 Clay 683 28.55% 1,709 71.45% −1,026 −42.89% 2,392 Cleburne 1,459 66.35% 740 33.65% 719 32.70% 2,199 Coffee 778 48.29% 833 51.71% −55 −3.41% 1,611 Colbert 2,011 72.89% 748 27.11% 1,263 45.78% 2,579 Conecuh 834 41.53% 1,174 58.47% −340 −16.93% 2,008 Coosa 948 41.16% 1,355 58.84% −407 −17.67% 2,303 Covington 698 40.56% 1,023 59.44% −325 −18.88% 1,721 Crenshaw 1,249 59.93% 835 40.07% 414 19.87% 2,084 Cullman 544 23.57% 1,764 76.43% −1,220 −52.86% 2,308 Dale 753 30.57% 1,710 69.43% −957 −38.86% 2,463 Dallas 8,125 97.19% 235 2.81% 7,890 94.38% 8,360 DeKalb 812 34.06% 1,572 65.94% −760 −31.88% 2,384 Elmore 1,757 76.39% 543 23.61% 1,214 52.78% 2,300 Escambia 703 60.97% 450 39.03% 253 21.94% 1,153 Etowah 1,189 35.71% 2,141 64.29% −952 −28.59% 3,330 Fayette 542 34.46% 1,031 65.54% −489 −31.09% 1,573 Franklin 528 29.78% 1,245 70.22% −717 −40.44% 1,773 Geneva 527 33.76% 1,034 66.24% −507 −32.48% 1,561 Greene 1,077 91.43% 101 8.57% 976 82.85% 1,178 Hale 4,698 98.02% 95 1.98% 4,603 96.04% 4,793 Henry 1,882 54.21% 1,590 45.79% 292 8.41% 3,472 Jackson 633 17.95% 2,893 82.05% −2,260 −64.10% 3,526 Jefferson 8,088 56.77% 6,160 43.23% 1,928 13.53% 14,248 Lamar 677 49.96% 678 50.04% −1 −0.07% 1,355 Lauderdale 1,125 35.48% 2,046 64.52% −921 −29.04% 3,171 Lawrence 1,229 58.50% 872 41.50% 357 16.99% 2,101 Lee 1,174 33.12% 2,371 66.88% −1,197 −33.77% 3,545 Limestone 2,243 79.34% 584 20.66% 1,659 58.68% 2,827 Lowndes 1,390 45.84% 1,642 54.16% −252 −8.31% 3,032 Macon 1,073 84.96% 190 15.04% 883 69.91% 1,263 Madison 4,255 65.47% 2,244 34.53% 2,011 30.94% 6,499 Marengo 1,958 85.17% 341 14.83% 1,617 70.33% 2,299 Marion 515 26.74% 1,411 73.26% −896 −46.52% 1,926 Marshall 401 15.32% 2,217 84.68% −1,816 −69.37% 2,618 Mobile 1,862 49.93% 1,867 50.07% −5 −0.13% 3,729 Monroe 1,039 70.16% 442 29.84% 597 40.31% 1,481 Montgomery 4,285 77.78% 1,224 22.22% 3,061 55.56% 5,509 Morgan 1,066 30.50% 2,429 69.50% −1,363 −39.00% 3,495 Perry 3,209 97.33% 88 2.67% 3,121 94.66% 3,297 Pickens 869 67.57% 417 32.43% 452 35.15% 1,286 Pike 1,627 57.86% 1,185 42.14% 442 15.72% 2,812 Randolph 1,365 51.14% 1,304 48.86% 61 2.29% 2,669 Russell 1,865 74.18% 649 25.82% 1,216 48.37% 2,514 Shelby 587 20.38% 2,293 79.62% −1,706 −59.24% 2,880 St. Clair 387 19.75% 1,572 80.25% −1,185 −60.49% 1,959 Sumter 2,930 94.58% 168 5.42% 2,762 89.15% 3,098 Talladega 2,693 66.26% 1,371 33.74% 1,322 32.53% 4,064 Tallapoosa 1,308 32.76% 2,685 67.24% −1,377 −34.49% 3,993 Tuscaloosa 1,354 54.68% 1,122 45.32% 232 9.37% 2,476 Walker 1,426 50.69% 1,387 49.31% 39 1.39% 2,813 Washington 480 48.39% 512 51.61% −32 −3.23% 992 Wilcox 4,652 96.31% 178 3.69% 4,474 92.63% 4,830 Winston 346 30.38% 793 69.62% −447 −39.24% 1,139
General overview The Alabama Constitution, in common with all other state constitutions, defines a tripartite government organized under a presidential system. Executive power is vested in the Governor of Alabama, legislative power in the Alabama State Legislature (bicameral, composed of the Alabama House of Representatives and Alabama Senate), and judicial power in the Judiciary of Alabama. Direct, partisan, secret, free elections are provided for filling all branches.
Notable features
The length and chaotic nature of the constitution was the result of an attempt at centralization of power in the state government dating from the late 19th century, when white Democrats dominated state government.
In addition, because of challenges from Populists in 1892 and 1894 elections, the Democratic Party intended to reduce suffrage in order to secure its own dominance. This appealed to yeomen farmers of North Alabama, who had supported Populists, on the grounds of white supremacy.
The Democrats raised "the Negro issue" and promised that "no white man would lose the franchise".Joseph H. Taylor, "Populism and Disfranchisement in Alabama", The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct., 1949), pp. 410-427 But Alabama's new constitution also "would remove [from voter registration rolls] the less educated, less organized, more impoverished whites as well — and that would ensure one-party Democratic rule through most of the 20th century in the South".Glenn Feldman, The Disfranchisement Myth: Poor Whites and Suffrage Restriction in Alabama, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2004, pp. 135–136 Glenn Feldman documented that, by 1941, more whites than blacks had been disenfranchised under this constitution.
The 1901 constitution was intended to curb executive power and to make it difficult to raise taxes, but in practice, it has resulted in the state legislature having extensive authority over counties, cities, and towns. The counties have to go to the legislature, and ipso facto representatives of uninvolved parts of the state, to get the most basic policy and financial laws passed, which often fail to get the support of the full legislature.
As a result, the state legislature devotes considerable time to local matters, and county legislative delegations handle many issues that are normally handled at the county level in most of the rest of the country.
The legislature's power was especially strong during the first half of the 20th century, and it was heavily biased in favor of rural interests. Originally, the state's 67 counties were the building blocks of legislative districts: Senate districts could only cover counties in their entirety, while House districts had to be self-contained within a county. The county's senator was in an especially powerful position, since the county legislative delegation decided nearly all local matters.
Although the both houses were to be apportioned based on each county's population, the legislature did not reapportion its districts for more than 60 years, despite the state constitution calling for reapportionment each decade after the national census. The fact counties could not be divided into several Senate districts also prevented the creation of senatorial districts with equal population. The vast differences in population between urban and rural counties through those decades resulted in rural areas being grossly over-represented in the legislature, giving them outsized influence over state affairs. Developing urban areas were underserved for decades and ill represented.
As a result of several federal court decisions in 1960-1967 that mandated the principle of "one man, one vote", members of both houses of the legislature are now elected from districts of roughly equal population, and the legislature is required to reapportion itself every decade.
Even with these changes, the legislature still has great power over local government, and devotes considerable time to local issues. With the buildup of the defense industry and regional needs during World War II in Birmingham and its area, Jefferson County was finally afforded limited home rule in 1944. Limited home rule has since been granted to six other counties: Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa.
All the other counties must lobby the local legislation committees of the state House and Senate to pass local ordinances, making passing even the simplest local laws a tedious process. Most county councils or commissions elect their members by at-large voting without proportional representation, which dilutes the political power of significant minorities and generally limits their ability to elect candidates of their choice.