1870 Illinois State Constitution Grants African Americans Suffrage

New Constitution for the State of Illinois. Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., 1870. Presented by the Sangamo Insurance Company. Octavo, approximately 5.5" x 8.5" inches. Printed gray wrappers. 32 pages. By the start of the Civil War, it was clear that the Illinois 1848 constitution was not equipped for the unforeseen changes in transportation, immigration, population growth, and industrialization, not to mention the hotly debated topic of suffrage. At the time, Illinois was one of seven Midwestern states that denied the vote to African American residents. Though Illinois had been admitted to the Union as a free state, a free Black person could be sold (truncated) by the sheriff to the highest bidder if unable to present proof of their freedom. The extreme partisanship of the Illinois State Convention of 1862 was doomed to fail. With the close of the war, however, voters approved another call for a constitutional convention. Illinois repealed the oppressive “Black Code” laws following the end of the War in 1865, paving the way for a more just future during the 1869 convention, where there was an even split between Democrats and Republicans. The convention met for 95 days and granted voting rights to Black men. The 1870 Illinois Constitution also included more detail concerning public education, transportation, revenue and the regulation of businesses and corporations, especially railroads, affirmed the property tax as the chief form of revenue for the state, increased the authority of the governor and curbed the power of the legislature, and reformed the court system. Served the state for 100 years. Chipping to wrapper edges. Front wrapper separated; back wrapper holding. Binding tight and interior clean. Rare and hard to find. Overall, in good condition. Rare. (Inventory #: 19359)