Part Two The Washington Constitution and Commentary, Art.XVI School and Granted Lands

As originally conceived, this article was to include the state tidelands and shorelines together with school and granted lands. Three attempts were made to pass the article in that form, but the constitutional convention ultimately created two separate articles, one addressing school and granted lands, and the other (Article XVII), tidelands. Article XVI was the source of some of the most heated verbal exchanges during the convention. The Enabling Act had granted the state over 2.5 million acres of land for the support of schools. Members of the convention and...