It establishes and defines the powers of the three branches of the government of Montana, and the rights of its citizens.
The first constitution intended for Montana's statehood was written at this six-day meeting,[1] but was lost on the way to the printer and so was never subject to a vote.
A second constitution was written and ratified in 1884, but due to political reasons, Congress failed to take any action to approve Montana's admission to the Union.
In 1889, Congress passed an enabling act that finally permitted the people of Montana to be admitted to the Union after adopting and ratifying a constitution, and the third constitution for the incipient state was written and ratified later that year.
It entered into force on November 8, 1889, when Montana became the 41st state admitted to the Union by the Presidential Proclamation of Benjamin Harrison.