A New Constitution

The delegates met from November until early February, crafting a 14,400-word document described as "more distinctly appropriate to its time and place than any other state constitution."

In their last few weeks, the delegates worked late into the night, striving to compromise on the issues that divided them. During their discussions, the delegates carefully examined every aspect of how to construct an ideal government for Alaska. It gave the vote to 19-year-olds at a time when the standard age was 21, delayed action on Native land claims, called for a strong governor, and declared that resources were to be managed and developed for the benefit of all people.

The delegates signed the constitution at a ceremony on February 5, 1956, witnessed by about 1,000 people in the university gym. In spring, the territory's voters approved the constitution by better than a two-to-one margin.

It became the law of the land three years later when Alaska, the 49th state, entered the Union.

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