With only 54 years of existence, the Constitution of the State of Alaska is in its developmental infancy compared to the constitutional history of the rest of the United States. However, having had the benefit of over 300 years, the Alaskan Constitution is a pioneer and model in--among other things--simplicity, coherence, vision and accessibility. The Alaska State Constitution provides an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of Alaska's constitutional history, it provides an in-depth, section-by-section analysis of the entire constitution, detailing the many significant changes that have been made since its initial drafting. This treatment, along with a table of cases, index, and bibliography provides an unsurpassed reference guide for students, scholars, and practitioners of Alaska's constitution. Previously published by Greenwood, this title has been brought back in to circulation by Oxford University Press with new verve. Re-printed with standardization of content organization in order to facilitate research across the series, this title, as with all titles in the series, is set to join the dynamic revision cycle of The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States. The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

The Constitution of the State of Alaska was ratified on April 4, 1956 and took effect with Alaska's admission to the United States as a U.S. state on January 3, 1959.

The Alaska Constitution, ratified by the people in 1956, became operative with the proclamation of statehood on January 3, 1959. The constitution was drafted by fifty-five delegates who convened at the University of Alaska to determine the authority vested in the state legislature, executive, judiciary, and other functions of government. This conveniently sized new edition will make the Alaska State Constitution accessible to all.

In 1956, delegates gathered at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks to write a constitution for what became the forty-ninth state of the union. They produced a document that many have said was more distinctly appropriate to its time and place than any other state constitution. Victor Fischer, one of the delegates, describes this historic event. Celebrate the constitution's fiftieth anniversary and learn about the writing of this important document.

Compared to the constitutional history of the rest of the US, the Constitution of Alaska is in its developmental infancy. However, with the benefit of over 300 years, the Alaskan Constitution is a pioneer and model in - among other things - simplicity, coherence, vision and accessibility. This volume offers a constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of Alaska's constitutional history, it provides an in-depth analysis of the entire constitution, detailing the many significant changes that have been made since its initial drafting.