Skip to Main Content

Pennsylvania Constitution

Finding the Constitution of 1873-4

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 1874
Available via the Duquesne University School of Law PA Constitution site.

The following member database includes different versions of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Members must be logged in to jenkinslaw.org to access this database. This database is also available in the library.

Additional resources in HeinOnline's State Constitution Illustrated database may include copies of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Constitutions of Pennsylvania; Constitution of the United States Analytically Indexed and with Index of Legislation Prohibited in Pennsylvania
Available on HeinOnline. Includes the text of and index to the 1874, 1838, 1790, and 1776 Pennsylvania Constitutions. Also available in print.

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: with an Introduction, Notes and References, and an Exhaustive Index; Showing ... the Changes Made by the Constitution of 1873-4 By H. E. Wallace and D. Sanders
Also available on Microfiche.

Constitutions of Pennsylvania; Constitution of the United States Legislative Reference Bureau
Includes the text of and index to the 1968, 1874, 1838, 1790, and 1776 Pennsylvania Constitutions.
Also available on Microfiche. Library also has 1964 and 1930 editions.

Finding Convention Materials - Electronic Resources

Constitutional Convention of 1873
Available via the Duquesne University School of Law PA Constitution site.
Includes:

  • Debates of the Convention to Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania... 1872-1873.
  • Journal of the Convention to Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania... 1872-1873.

HeinOnline includes select materials related to the 1872-74 Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. Members must be logged in to jenkinslaw.org to access this database. HeinOnline is also available in the library.

Argument by Benjamin Harris Brewster, on the Subject of the Ordinance of Submission of the Constitutional Convention
Available on HeinOnline. From Browse Databases by Name, select State Constitutions Illustrated > State Constitutions Illustrated > Pennsylvania > Other Related Works > Argument by Benjamin Harris Brewster, on the Subject of the Ordinance of Submission of the Constitutional Convention.

Debates of the Convention to Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania
Convened at Harrisburg, November 12, 1872
Available on HeinOnline. From Browse Databases by Name, select State Constitutions Illustrated > State Constitutions Illustrated > Pennsylvania > Other Related Works > Debates of the Convention to Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania: Convened at Harrisburg, November 12, 1872.

Journal of the Convention to Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania
Convened at Harrisburg, November 12, 1872; Adjourned November 27, to Meet at Philadelphia, January 7, 1873
Available on HeinOnline. From Browse Databases by Name, select State Constitutions Illustrated > State Constitutions Illustrated > Pennsylvania > Other Related Works > Journal of the Convention to Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania: Convened at Harrisburg, November 12, 1872; Adjourned November 27, to Meet at Philadelphia, January 7, 1873.

LLMC Digital includes select materials related to the 1872-74 Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. Members must be logged in to jenkinslaw.org to access this database. LLMC Digital is also available in the library.

Constitutional Convention: Proposed Constitution as Passed Second Reading (1873)
Available on LLMC Digital. From Basic Search, select U.S. States and Territories > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, Constitutional (by date) > 1873, Proposed constitution as passed on 2nd reading > Vol. 1.

Debates of the Convention to Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania (1872-73)
Available on LLMC Digital. From Basic Search, select U.S. States and Territories > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, Constitutional (by date) > 1873, Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention Debates.

New Constitution, Printed by Order of the Convention, to Be Submitted to a Vote of the People (1873)
Available on LLMC Digital. From Basic Search, select U.S. States and Territories > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, Constitutional (by date) > 1873, New Constitution to be submitted to the people > Vol. 1.

Finding Convention Materials - Print & Microfiche

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
New constitution to be submitted to a vote of the people, Tuesday, December 16th, 1873. See No. 7.
Library copy was previously Judge Sharswood's copy and includes penciled notations.

New Constitution Printed by Order of the Convention; to be Submitted to a Vote of the People, Tuesday, December 16, 1873
Also available on LLMC Digital.

Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention 1872 and 1873: Its Members and Officers and the Result of their Labors By A.D. Harlan

Statistical and Other Information for the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania
Prepared by Francis Jordan, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1872.