rticle of
the constitution adopted at Iowa City the first day of November, anno
Domini eighteen hundred and forty-four, or by the Legislature of
said State." Moreover, it was found that the provisions of the
Constitution of 1844 just quoted read as follows: "This constitution,
together with whatever conditions may be made to the same by Congress,
shall be ratified or rejected by a vote of the qualified electors of
this Territory at the township elections in April next, in the manner
prescribed by the act of the Legislative Assembly providing for the
holding of this Convention: _Provided, however_, that the General
Assembly of this State may ratify or reject any conditions Congress
may make to this Constitution after the first Monday of April next."

In the light of these provisions it appeared to the people of Iowa
that a vote cast for the Constitution would be a vote for the
Constitution as modified by the act of Congress. This view was
altogether plausible since no provision had been made for a separate
ballot on the conditions imposed by Congress. And so it was thought
that a ratification of the Constitution would carry with it an
acceptance of the _Nicollet boundaries_, while a rejection of the
Constitution would imply a decided stand in favor of the _Lucas
boundaries_.

Those who during the fall and winter had opposed ratification now
renewed their opposition with augmented zeal. The Whigs turned from
their petty attacks upon the provisions of the Constitution to
denounce the conditions imposed by Congress. They declared that the
Constitution must be defeated in order to reject the undesirable
_Nicollet boundaries_.

The boundary question now led a considerable number of the more
moderate Democrats to oppose ratification. Prominent leaders of the
party took the stump and declared that it would be better to reject
the Constitution altogether than to accept the limited boundaries
proposed by Congress. They declared that the "natural boundaries" as
prescribed by the Constitution should not be curtailed, and called
upon all good Democrats to vote down their own Constitution. Many,
however, continued to support ratification, believing that the
boundaries imposed by the act of Congress were the best that could be
obtained under the existing conditions. Augustus Dodge, the Iowa
Delegate in Congress, took this stand.

When the Constitution of 1844 was before Congress Mr. Dodge had
stood firmly for the boundaries