Editing Indiana General Assembly (section)

==History==

===1816 Constitution===
[[Image:Corydon old capital.jpg|right|thumb|[[Corydon Historic District|Old Capitol Building]] in downtown [[Corydon, Indiana|Corydon]]]]
Indiana's first constitution was ratified on June 10, 1816, and the election of the first General Assembly took place on August 5 of that year.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=377}} They convened in the [[Corydon Historic District|original three-room statehouse]] located in [[Corydon, Indiana|Corydon]]. The body consisted of ten senators and twenty-nine representatives, sixteen of whom had been signers of the Indiana state constitution. There, the General Assembly began its development into the institution it is today.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=388}}<ref name="centerforhistory.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.centerforhistory.org/indiana_history_main3.html|publisher=Indiana Center For History|title=''Indiana History Chapter three''|access-date=May 17, 2008 |url-status=usurped|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080511131847/http://www.centerforhistory.org/indiana_history_main3.html |archive-date = May 11, 2008}}</ref> The original constitution provided that representatives served terms of one year and senators served terms of three years, and permitted an annual meeting of the assembly from December until March.<ref name = INC1816/>

At first, there was only one political party of any consequence in Indiana, the [[Democratic-Republicans]]. The party was, however, broken into three divisions that would later split off into their own parties. The divisions were mainly over the issue of slavery, but they would develop more differences in later years.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=334}} The [[Jonathan Jennings|Jennings]] party, made up of abolitionists, was dominant in the beginning. The [[James Noble (senator)|Noble]] party was in favor of slavery, and the [[William Hendricks|Hendricks]] party was generally neutral, although Hendricks himself was openly anti-slavery.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=334}} In 1818, the Noble party tried to impeach Governor Jennings over his role in the negotiations of the [[Treaty of St. Mary's]]. After two months of debate in the House, and Jennings having destroyed the evidence of his role, the House of Representatives dropped the investigation and issued a resolution that confirmed Jennings in his position as governor.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=378}}

In its first two decades, the General Assembly laid the foundation of the state. They created the framework for the state's public school system, began construction on the [[Indiana University|State Seminary]] and of roads in the southern part of the state. Initially, the General Assembly was faced with low tax revenues. In response to the problem, they created the [[Bank of Indiana]] and sold {{convert|9,000,000|acres|km2|spell=in}} of public lands to finance their projects. The General Assembly relocated the capital to [[Indianapolis]] in 1824, and in 1831 they authorized the construction of the first dedicated statehouse.<ref name="centerforhistory.org"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/idoa/2550.htm|title=''The State House Story''|publisher=IN.gov|author=Indiana Historical Bureau|access-date=May 17, 2008|archive-date=May 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518020118/http://www.in.gov/idoa/2550.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the 1830s, the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whigs]] split from the Democratic-Republicans in response to national policies. The Whigs held a strong majority in the General Assembly in that decade.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=373-374}} In 1843, the remnants of the old slavery party had strengthened into the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] and swept into power, the Whigs never regained their majority and the Democrats maintained power until the middle of the [[American Civil War]]. In 1836 the General Assembly passed the [[Indiana Mammoth Internal Improvement Act|Mammoth Internal Improvement Act]] and set plans into motion to modernize the [[Internal improvements|state's infrastructure]]. The [[American frontier|wilderness]] of northern and central Indiana was slowly developed as the General Assembly approved the construction of roads, [[canal]]s, railroads, and numerous other infrastructure projects. This led the state to near bankruptcy in the late 1830s, but it was avoided when the General Assembly spun off the failing canals, and half of their debts, to private companies in 1841. The failure of the projects was the main factor in the Whig's loss of power.<ref>{{cite book|title= An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana |url= https://archive.org/details/anillustratedhi02tuttgoog |author1=Goodrich, De Witt C.  |author2=Tuttle, Charles Richard |pages=[https://archive.org/details/anillustratedhi02tuttgoog/page/n201 189]–192|publisher=R. S. Peale & co.|year=1875}}</ref>

The state constitution had come under considerable criticism beginning in the 1840s because it allowed most government positions to be filled by appointment. The problem with this method of filling positions did not manifest itself until the advent of the state's political parties. Once in power, a party could stack the government with its own members, making it difficult for the minority to regain power. Another problem was that the authority for many trivial issues was not delegated to other authorities. For example, if a man was to divorce his wife, the divorce bill had to be approved by the General Assembly before being allowed to legally remarry.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=443}}

===1851 Constitution===
In 1851, a [[Constitution of Indiana#Constitution of 1851|new state constitution]] was created and ratified. Among the constitution's new clauses was an extension of the terms of representatives to two years and senators to four years. It also made many of the previously appointed positions open to public election.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/inconst/art-4.html |title=Constitution of Indiana, Article 4, Section 2 |access-date=June 18, 2008 |archive-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801103208/http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/inconst/art-4.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The new constitution delegated many minor tasks to newly created elected offices. With its workload considerably decreased, instead of meeting annually, the General Assembly only convened a session every two years. The new constitution also placed new limits on the General Assembly's power to create local laws, the General Assembly having become notorious for creating state-level laws that were only applied to one town or county.<ref name = INC1816>1816 Constitution of Indiana, Article 3, Section 4-5</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/history/6230.htm |title=The 1851 Indiana Constitution |author=David G. Vanderstel |publisher=IN.gov |access-date=June 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619005557/http://www.in.gov/history/6230.htm |archive-date=June 19, 2008 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=443-447}}

The new constitution led to the gradual erosion of the Democratic majority. In 1854, the Republican Party was established and drew in many of the former Whigs. That year the General Assembly was split with no party attaining a majority. The Democrats held the largest number of seats, but the Whigs and Republicans caucused to form a majority and control the assembly. The result was a deadlock on most issues because Republicans and Whigs could not agree on most major issues.{{Sfn|Dunn|1919|p=521-524}} By 1858, the Whigs were almost completely disempowered and the Republicans gained enough seats to become the largest party, but not enough to form a majority on their own. That year Governor [[Ashbel P. Willard]] called the first special session of the General Assembly because they had been unable to pass an appropriations bill. Democrats regained a small majority by gaining the votes of the disaffected Whigs in the 1860 election.<ref name=INSTAR>{{cite web
 |url=http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/207993-2051-P.html 
 |title=A historic look back at the Statehouse 
 |publisher=The Indianapolis Star 
 |date=January 9, 2005 
 |access-date=June 18, 2008 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819021840/http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/207993-2051-P.html 
 |archive-date=August 19, 2007 
}}</ref>

During the 1860s and the [[American Civil War]], the legislature was the [[Indiana in the American Civil War#Conflict with the Democrats|scene of intense debate]]. At the beginning of the war, the General Assembly was controlled by the [[Copperheads (politics)|southern sympathetic]] [[United States Democratic Party|Democrats]].<ref name = icw>{{cite book|title=Indiana in the Civil War Era: 1850–1880|author=Thornbrough, Emma |year=1991|isbn=0-87195-050-2|publisher=[[Indiana Historical Society]]|pages=140–156}}</ref> [[Governor of Indiana|Governor]] [[Oliver Morton]] and the [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] minority were able to prevent the General Assembly from meeting in 1862 and 1863 by denying the body [[quorum]].<ref name = icw/> Morton even had some members of the body arrested or detained on suspicions of disloyalty. The lack of funding created by this crisis again led to the near bankruptcy of the state. In 1864, the [[United States Republican Party|Republican]]s gained a majority and convened the General Assembly to remedy the state's funding problems.<ref name = icw/>

During the 1880s and 1890s, Indiana industry began to grow rapidly because of the [[Indiana Gas Boom]], leading to the creation of many labor unions and a return to Democratic control of the General Assembly. One of the events to occur during the period was the [[Black Day of the Indiana General Assembly|Black Day of the General Assembly]], a situation arising from Governor [[Isaac P. Gray]]'s desire to be elected to the [[United States Senate]]. Beginning with the state senate's refusal to seat a new lieutenant governor, fighting broke out in the chamber and spread throughout the statehouse. Shots were fired, and Democrats and Republicans threatened to kill each other before police could bring the situation under control.{{Sfn|Gugin|2006|p=178}} A second bout of violence broke out in the 1894 regular session when Republicans locked the doors of the House chambers preventing Governor [[Claude Matthews]] from delivering a veto of a bill that repealed over a decade of Democratic legislation. The governor personally led fellow party members in beating down the door and unsuccessfully attempting to fight their way to the podium to deliver the vetoed bill; one newspaper said Democrats and Republicans "fought like beasts of the forest."{{Sfn|Gugin|2006|p=207}} During those decades, the General Assembly enacted a series of laws to protect the rights of workers and encourage more industrial growth. The [[female suffrage|women's suffrage movement]] also began in the state and rallies were held in Indianapolis to support the female suffrage legislation that was ultimately voted down in the General Assembly.{{Sfn|Gray|1995|p=193}}

During 1907, the General Assembly made Indiana the first state to enact [[eugenics]] legislation, and the law remained in effect until 1921. The law led to the forced [[Compulsory sterilization|sterilization]] of thousands of criminals until it was ruled unconstitutional by the Indiana Supreme Court in 1921.<ref>[http://www.bioethics.iupui.edu/Eugenics/SMith%20vs%20Williams.pdf ''Williams v. Smith'', 131 NE 2 (Ind.), 1921, text at] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001000000/http://www.bioethics.iupui.edu/Eugenics/SMith%20vs%20Williams.pdf |date=October 1, 2008 }}</ref>

In 1921, [[Julia D. Nelson|Julia Nelson]] was the first woman elected to the Indiana General Assembly.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Scandal erupted in 1925 when it was discovered that the [[Indiana Klan|Indiana Branch]] of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] controlled over half the seats in the General Assembly. During the session, Grand Dragon [[D. C. Stephenson]] boasted "I am the law in Indiana".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centerforhistory.org/indiana_history_main7.html| title=Indiana History Chapter Seven| publisher= Indiana Center for History|access-date=June 23, 2008 |url-status=usurped|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080411163028/http://www.centerforhistory.org/indiana_history_main7.html |archive-date = April 11, 2008}}</ref> During the next two years, the federal government intervened, Stephenson was convicted of murder. After the governor refused to pardon him, Stephenson indicted his co-conspirators, leading to many of the state government being charged with various crimes and removing much of the Klan's power.<ref name = INSTAR/><ref>{{cite book|author=Lutholtz, M. William|year=199| title=Grand Dragon: D. C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana| location=West Lafayette, Indiana|publisher= Purdue University Press|isbn=1-55753-046-7|pages=43, 89}}</ref>

In the 1930s, the General Assembly established the state's first general welfare programs to help the poor affected by the [[Great Depression]]. The General Assembly passed the nation's first [[DUI]] laws in 1939, establishing a blood alcohol level of .15 as the legal limit. The 1940s led to the first African American being elected to the Indiana Senate and legislation that desegregated the public schools in 1949.<ref name = INSTAR/>

The General Assembly established the state's first sales tax at two percent in 1962. The revenues from the tax led to a host of new projects across the state. The General Assembly also passed the Indiana Civil Rights bill in 1963, granting equal protection to minorities in seeking employment.{{Sfn|Gray|1995|p=391-392}} In 1970 a series of constitutional amendments were passed. Among them was one that authorized the General Assembly to meet annually instead of biennially.<ref name = INSTAR/>

During the 1988 session, the Indiana House of Representatives was split evenly between both parties for the first time in Indiana's history. After a period of negotiations, both parties agreed to share majority powers, alternating which party controlled the position of speaker each day. The same General Assembly legalized [[horse racing]] in the state in 1989.<ref name = INSTAR/>

Governor [[Evan Bayh]] called a special session of the General Assembly in 1992 because no budget had been passed in the regular session. During the special session, the General Assembly passed the budget and also legalized the operation of riverboat [[casino]]s in the state, overriding the governor's veto to prevent it.<ref name = INSTAR/>

The General Assembly passed [[property tax]] reform legislation in 2008, capping property taxes at one percent, making Indiana one of the lowest property tax locations in the nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/gov/files/031908_Governor_signs_property_tax_relief_and_reform_bill.pdf |title=Governor Signs Property Tax Reform |publisher=IN.gov |access-date=June 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810214431/http://www.in.gov/gov/files/031908_Governor_signs_property_tax_relief_and_reform_bill.pdf |archive-date=August 10, 2011 }}</ref>