Foreword.

• Author: Gilbertson, David
• Position: South Dakota Constitution

The South Dakota Supreme Court has declared the South Dakota Constitution the "mother law," the supreme law of the land. It has been so since South Dakota became a state in 1889. Considering the lifestyle at the time of its adoption, it has proved to be a remarkably resilient document.

The day before Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as President in 1861, the Dakota Territory was created. In reality, it was but a few huts clinging to the north shore of the Missouri River. However, by the next year, Dakota Territory managed to hold its first Territorial Legislature and established an organized government. The public printer of the Session Laws of the First Session of the Territorial Legislature, who must have been an optimist of the first order, declared: "This vast terra incognita is already undulating with the breath of civilization, and the time cannot be far distant when its noble prairies and fertile valleys must yield up their wealth to the restless, aggressive, and all-conquering energy of the American people."

The South Dakota Constitution did not come into being easily as the State of South Dakota itself traveled a long and winding road to come into existence. Failure after failure in the national political arena was its early fate. The Founding Fathers of South Dakota through the territorial period were largely Union veterans of the Civil War. They had endured defeat after bloody defeat at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Like their now-martyred President, they overcame this string of defeats and were ultimately victorious.

Through the 1870's and 1880's, the primary political movement in the southern half of Dakota Territory was for statehood. During this period, the population saw a large increase. Joining the Union veterans and their families were a substantial number of immigrants mainly from Northern Europe. The pro-statehood forces saw these newcomers as a positive change and the movement became one of inclusion rather than exclusion.

In 1883, a constitutional convention convened at Germania Hall in Sioux Falls to draft a constitution. This draft was a well-written document that provided a foundation for future drafts. When it and subsequent drafts were considered by the voters, pre-election copies were distributed to the electorate not only in English, but also in German, Norwegian, Russian, and "Scandinavian." Despite its approval at the polls, the 1883 constitution became a casualty of the political wars in...