Florida Constitutional Convention of 1838
A handwritten copy of the 1838 Constitution or "Form of Government for the People of Florida," signed by Convention President, Robert Raymond Reid, and Convention Secretary, Joshua Knowles resides at the State Archives of Florida. Considered "a secretary's copy" this document is the only known copy of the 1838 Constitution. The original Constitution, signed by all the delegates, has never been found. The preamble to the Constitution of 1838:
Constitution of Florida
The political context of this new Constitution was that it was a necessary step toward fair apportionment of legislative districts, required by the US Supreme Court in various decisions in the 1960s. Many states, including Florida. had allotted a fixed number of senators per county, regardless of population, since the republic began. This violated the new federal court decisions. The regular political process had failed to remedy this. The malapportionment, until the new Constitution, had strongly favored rural, North Florida legislators, including the Pork Chop Gang, over legislators from more populous, urban districts. In 1960, "12.3% of the population could elect a majority in the state senate and 14.7% could do the same in the lower house."