The Constitution of 1901, referred to by Malcolm C. McMillan as the "Disfranchising Constitution," consists of Article I: Declaration of Rights; Article II: State and County Boundaries; Article III: Distribution of Powers of Government; Article IV: Legislative Department, which includes a section titled Local Legislation; Article V: Executive Departments; Article VI: Judicial Department; Article VII: Impeachments; Article VIII: Suffrage and Elections; Article IX: Representation, which includes a list of senatorial districts in Ala.; Article X: Exemptions; Article XI: Taxation; Article XII: Corporations, which is divided into Municipal Corporations, Private Corporations, and Railroads and Canals; Article XIII: Banks and Banking; Article XIV: Education; Article XV: Militia; Article XVI: Oath of Office; Article XVII: Miscellaneous Provisions; Article XVIII: Mode of Amending the Constitution; a Schedule; and the signatures of the convention delegates. This constitution provided that only those men that could read and write any article of the Constitution of the U.S., and that those men that owned either forty acres of land or real estate valued at $300 or more, were permitted to vote. This document also continued to emphasize the femme sole rights of women in Ala. by specifying that all real and personal property of any female, acquired both before and after marriage, "shall be and remain the separate estate and property of such female, and shall not be liable for any debts, obligations or engagements of her husband." (Section 209). The Constitution has a total of 287 sections, numbered consecutively and uninterrupted from Article I through Article XVIII. The document, bound in burgandy-colored leather, is written on sixty-one sheets or parchment. The Constitution is signed by the delegates on the last six pages. It is signed by 153 delegates, including John B. Knox, President of the Convention, and Frank N. Julian, Secretary of the Convention. The Constitution was completed on 1901 Sept. 3, and presented to the Secretary of State's office on 1901 Nov. 1. The statement of receipt and the signature of Robert P. McDavid, Secretary of State, acknowledges the receipt of this document. It is interesting to note that next to the signatures of some of the delegates the years 1875 and 1901 are written, indicating that they served in two constitutional conventions. Also, approximately 500 amendments to date have been made to the Constitution of 1901.
