Wyoming’s Declaration
By Kylie McCormick
“In their inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all members of the human race are equal.”
This quote isn’t from the Declaration of Independence…it’s from the Wyoming Constitution.
On a snowy day in November 1889, thousands of Wyoming citizens braved the cold weather to go to the polls to ratify their new state constitution. Turnout was low, but the vote in support of the constitution was overwhelming with 76% of the votes cast in favor.
Wyoming’s founding document showed a clear evolution of national ideals that had been enshrined in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Bill of Rights in 1791.
The Declaration famously proclaimed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The idea of natural rights was not new. It was an evolution of the philosophy of John Locke. In his 1689 book, Second Treatise of Government, Locke proposed natural rights of man consisting of life, liberty, and property.
The evolution from property to the pursuit of happiness inspired political change in the new country. For instance, Georgia would be the first of the original 13 colonies to recognize a universal white male suffrage by eliminating the property restrictions required to vote.
Change was gradual and the idea of “happiness” was mostly aspirational. It took eighty years after the Declaration was adopted for all of the states in the union to adopt a universal suffrage for white men.
The notion of all men being created equal took even more time. Again, we can look at the right to vote to see the shift. In February 1869, Congress passed the 15th Amendment, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting but still restricted voting to men and did not recognize Native American voting rights. Two months later, President Grant appointed the first officials for new territory of Wyoming.
Wyoming made history in December 1869 by recognizing women’s right to vote. It made history again in 1889, with a constitution built on the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.stitutional delegates and friends gathered on the capitol steps in 1889. Photo: Wyoming State Archives.
The evolution from “all men are created equal,” to “all members of the human race are equal” in the Wyoming Constitution is the reason Wyoming came to be known as the Equality State. While we have not always lived up to our ideals, the delegates who gathered in Cheyenne in September 1889 to draft the constitution created an inspirational founding document that guides us still today.
In honor of America 250, at WyoHistory.org we are celebrating our founders—the people who have inspired and helped to create the great state we live in. History is not always easy—people with remarkable accomplishments were human beings with their own faults and biases. We strive to present an honest portrait of the men and women who created Wyoming.
Discover more on Wyoming’s Founding Figures
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