Ohio Constitution

Digital print of the first page of the 1802 Ohio Constitution. In November 1802, thirty-five delegates of the Ohio Constitutional Convention convened to draft a state constitution. In order for Ohio to become a state, representatives of the territory had to submit a constitution to the United States Congress for approval. This was the final requirement under the Northwest Ordinance that Ohio had to meet before becoming a state. Twenty six of the delegates favored the platform of the Democratic-Republican Party. Among these men was Edward Tiffin, the president of the convention. Democratic-Republicans favored a small government with limited powers, in which the legislative branch should hold the few powers that the government actually possessed. Seven delegates to the convention were Federalists. Federalists believed in a much stronger government. The remaining two delegates were independents. Since the Democratic-Republicans controlled the convention, Ohio's first state constitution established a relatively weak government with the legislative branch holding most of the power. The convention approved the Constitution on November 29, 1802, and adjourned, and Ohio's Constitution of 1803 remained in effect until the Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1851 adopted a new one