PLC lessons are offered to supplement rather than replace approved public school teaching materials. For example, the Washington State Constitution is a mandatory topic
for State History classes. PLC has nothing “extra” to offer with audience being home schoolers, reservations, and small rural schools … discussing topics not necessarily found in public curricula but deemed necessary for a knowledgeable population. That said, we are especially interested in the impact of states whose constitutions are based on alternative systems of law (California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, North Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico … where reciprocity amongst lawyers’ “Bars” does not exist with WA). How do state constitutions differ and why? We sincerely appreciate Followers’ comments, and we try to answer concerns, often blending those concerns and knowledge into edited, updated, and more refined posts. Thank you.
Washington became the 42nd state on November 11, 1889. Years before that the growing populace of Oregon Territory north of the Columbia River had formally requested a new territory. This request was granted by the U.S. government in 1853 as Oregon prepared to become a state. Then there was a 36 year wait! A first draft of a Washington State constitution was drafted in 1878 and was used extensively in the drafting of the final 1889 constitution. The boundary of Washington Territory initially extended farther east than the present’s, including what is now the Idaho Panhandle, parts of western Montana, and land to the southeast that was left behind when Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859. The creation of Idaho Territory in 1863 established the final eastern border. (Note how the San Juan Islands were not included in the 1853 map of the new Washington Territory shown below.)
