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1963 Michigan Constitution - Donna Christine Hellman State Constitutional Law Collection Resources

1963 Michigan Constitution - Donna Christine Hellman State Constitutional Law Collection Resources

1963 Michigan Constitution: Donna Christine Hellman State Constitutional Law Collection Resources

Primary Resources in Print

Materials in this category may all be found in the Donna Christine Hellman State Constitutional Law Collection (SCLC) located in the State Law Library on the 3rd Floor of the Library of Michigan. In the Library’s ANSWER catalog, this location appears as

LIB OF MICH LAW CONCON 3N 

The key resource in this area is the State of Michigan Constitutional Convention 1961: Official Record, which combines a daily action journal with verbatim proceedings. It is well-indexed and available online in many places. The Library of Michigan also has print copies that may be checked out.

Preparation

  • Constitutional Convention Preparatory Commission - Series of publications on different topics before the Convention. Keyword search in ANSWER on terms constitutional preparatory commission.
  • Handbook, 1961 -1962: Michigan Constitutional Convention 
  • Pierce, William J., A Prepared Manual of Organization and Procedure for a State Constitutional Convention (Prepared for Constitutional Convention Preparatory Commission, Sept. 1, 1961)
  • Special Reading List – Bibliography prepared by the [State] Library for Convention delegates and staff.

Proceedings

  • Action Journal, Hearings, Calendars of the Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-62 – multiple volumes collecting reports and supporting documentation and organized by area of study by the delegates, for example, Education, Emerging Problems, Local Government.
  • Committee Proposals and Reports – 2 volumes. LM Copy 3 in the Michigan Documents collection is organized by 
    committee name. Includes information on status of proposals.
  • Convention notes – Weekly newsletter published from Oct. 20, 1961 to May 11, 1962. (Hale, Brake D.)
  • Delegate Proposals – multiple volumes. Includes information on final status of proposals.
  • Exclusion reports. 2001-2046 – Includes status table and key to position on general orders calendar.
  • Journal of the Constitutional Convention – Issued daily during the Michigan Constitutional Convention. No. 1, Oct. 3, 1961.
  • State of Michigan Constitutional Convention 1961: Official Record
  • Status of Proposals
  • Unanimity in Voting – Memorandum to Delegate Henry Woolfenden from Research and Drafting, April 26, 1962.

Adoption and Ratification

  • Address to the People – see What the Proposed New State Constitution Means to You
  • The Constitution of the State of Michigan (Secretary of State) 1963
  • Proposed Constitution of the State of Michigan As Finally Adopted by the Convention, August 1, 1962 
  • The Proposed New Constitution of Michigan: What It Means to You
  • What the Proposed New State Constitution Means to You: A Report to the People of Michigan / by their elected delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1961-62

Michigan Constitution Amendments

Analysis of legislative resolutions related to amendments are housed in the State Law Library and the Michigan Documents Collection and may also be available in LM Digital.

Analysis, Background, and Commentary

  • Citizens Research Council of Michigan, Michigan Constitutional Issues (February 2010)
  • Citizens Research Council of Michigan, A Comparative Analysis of the Michigan Constitution
  • Con-Con Law in Layman’s Language (Elections Division. Michigan Department of State)
  • Michigan AFL-CIO, Facts About the Proposed Michigan Constitution
  • Michigan Can Lead the Way: Michigan Constitutional Convention – Documentary on the Convention created by Wayne State University and Michigan State University (Vimeo, 27 minutes). *Note: Recommended for educators!
  • Pollock, James K., Making Michigan’s New Constitution, 1961-1962
  • Sturm, Albert L. Constitution-Making in Michigan, 1961-1962

 Resources in Digital or Electronic Format

Whenever possible, the Library of Michigan provides links in the ANSWER catalog to freely available, downloadable digitized copies of a resource. Look for a notation of “Available online” or “electronic copy” in the catalog record. Many of print resources published by the State of Michigan or papers from the Convention committees have been digitized.

Search Strategies and Finding Aids

  • Finding Aid for the Records of the Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962
  • Subject Index to Current and Proposed Constitutions (Citizens Research Council, June 1962)
  • Wanger, Eugene G., The Eugene M. & Roka G. Wanger Michigan Constitutional History Collection: A Historical Bibliography (2009)

Use these suggested examples of Keyword and Subject searches in the Library of Michigan’s ANSWER catalog to retrieve materials in the 1963 Michigan Constitution:

Constitutional preparatory commission
Michigan Constitution
Michigan Constitution (1963) (also 1961 and 1962)
Michigan Constitution Amendments
Constitutional amendments Michigan
Michigan Constitutional Convention (1961-1962)
Constitutional law Michigan
Constitutions Michigan
Constitutional conventions

Keywords may help retrieve materials with a more specific focus, for example, Committee proposals on taxation.

Access Information

The State Law Library is open to all researchers from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. In addition, the Michigan Documents collection may have duplicates of many of these materials and is accessible during the Library of Michigan’s regular Saturday hours from 10 am to 4 pm. 

If requested by close of business on Friday, State Law Library materials may be set aside for researchers to use on Saturday. Please contact the State Law Library for more information.

There is holdings information for some MSU libraries and the State Archives in the ANSWER catalog. Library of Michigan locations in addition to the SCLC will include.

Lib of Mich Law Michigan – Location on 3rd Floor in State Law Library, must be used in house 
Lib of Mich Law Circ – Location of 3rd Floor in State Law Library (circulating collection)
Lib of Mich Mich Docs – Location on 2nd Floor (Open collection – may be circulating copies available)
Lib of Mich Mich Docs Official – Location on 5th Floor (Closed collection – material must be paged)
Lib of Mich Michigan – Location on 2nd Floor (Open collection – may be circulating copies available)

State employees may request through ANSWER that circulating materials be sent to their state offices via ID Mail. The starred materials *** in the Electronic Resources section are available remotely to state employees through their Library of Michigan library card and PIN. 

Resources at Other Institutions

Library of Michigan and State Law Library Contact Points

State Law Library Phone: 517-335-1480 (answered 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday) 
State Law Library Email: LMLawLib@michigan.gov
Library of Michigan Main Reference Desk: 517-335-1477 (answered 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday)
Main Reference Email: Librarian@michigan.gov

Last updated: November 2019