the power to appoint and remove
the chief administrative officers in the Territory. Finally, there
existed in the machinery of Territorial government a nice balance
between administration on the one hand and legislation on the other,
that is, between the part which was responsible directly to the
President of the United States and the part which was responsible
directly to the people of the Territory.

VIII

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORY AMENDED

No provision for its amendment is contained in the Organic Act of 1838;
but by inference and implication it is clear that the power to change,
alter, or amend the Constitution of the Territory resided in Congress.
The process of amendment, therefore, was that of ordinary legislation.

Congress was not long in exercising this extraordinary power. On March
3, 1839, within eight months of the organization of the Territory, the
President approved two acts amending the Constitution. These were: (1)
"An act to alter and amend the organic law of the Territories of
Wisconsin and Iowa;" and (2) "An Act to authorize the election or
appointment of certain officers in the Territory of Iowa, and for other
purposes."

The first limited the veto power of the Governor by providing that bills
not approved by him might, nevertheless, become laws if passed a second
time by two-thirds of both houses of the Legislative Assembly.

The second likewise aimed at curtailing the powers of the Governor by
authorizing the Legislative Assembly to "provide by law for the election
or appointment of sheriffs, judges of probate, justices of the peace,
and county surveyors."

The history of a quarrel between the Governor and the first Legislative
Assembly, which in a great measure occasioned these amendments, is
significant in throwing light upon the political ideas and the
democratic frankness and determination of the people of the Territory.

On July 7, 1838, President Van Buren issued a commission to Robert Lucas
of Ohio, appointing him Governor of the new Territory of Iowa. The
position was a difficult one to fill; but the President's selection
promised to be the very best. Lucas was neither young, obscure, nor
inexperienced. Born in Virginia, he had served with distinction in the
War of 1812. He had served in the Legislature of Ohio, and had twice
been elected to the office of Governor by the people of that State.
In 1832 he acted as Chairman of the first National Convention of
the D