Understanding the California Constitution
The original California constitution was adopted in 1849 and included provisions allowing Californians to vote to hold a new constitutional convention and adopt a new constitution.
In 1878, Californians did just that. A second constitutional convention began in 1878 and ultimately adopted California's second constitution in 1879.
The 1879 constitution remains in place today, although it has been periodically amended.
California Constitution
- California ConstitutionCurrent full text of the California Constitution, available from the California legislature's LegInfo website.
- 1878–1879 Constitutional Convention Working PapersSecretary of State's scans of over 1,000 working papers related to the 1878 to 1879 California Constitutional Convention, including the full text of the original 1879 constitution.
- Records of the Constitutional Convention of 1849Secretary of State's collection of materials related to the 1849 California Constitutional Convention, including the original English and Spanish text of the 1849 constitution and the official report of the 1849 California constitution debates.
- 1849 California Constitution DebatesAnother free scan of the official report of the 1849 California constitution debates, provided by Google Books.
