The cover page of this document says “Constitution of the State of Iowa” Adopted in Convention at Iowa City March 5th A.D. 1857 Submitted to the People for Adoption or Rejection at the Election to be held in August 1857. Muscatine Iowa. Printed by the Order of Constitutional Convention. 1857.
The first paragraph of the Constitution indirectly refers to the Christian religion by saying: “We the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation for those blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent government, by the name of the State of Iowa…”
Page six is the only page that refers to race, stating in Section 23: “There Shall be no slavery in this State; nor shall there be involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime.”
Iowa had a previous constitution, written in 1846 when Iowa became a state. But the consitution did not suit the needs of the state and a new government plan created a constitution in 1857 and still used today, with 46 amendments.