Seventy-five years ago, newspapers across the country lamented the death of Joseph Kinsey Howard. Described as the spokesman of the West, the state’s conscience, by the likes of A.B. “Bud” Guthrie, Howard died far too soon, age 45.

Rick Applegate

Rick Applegate

An inspired, dedicated Great Falls journalist, historian, educator and advocate, his books, the acclaimed "Montana High Wide and Handsome," and his posthumous "Strange Empire" are still widely read. His hefty compilation of Montana stories, "Montana Margins," remains a fine precursor to the "Last Best Place." "Montana Margins" was part of an effort to work with local communities on their values and their futures, in areas now deeply troubled by disruptive economic and political forces beyond local control.

Howard wrote persuasively, aggressively in support of education, workers, Indigenous people and the environment. He condemned the corruption so prevalent in his time…and he would certainly express outrage about our turpitude now. He excoriated the domination of the state by outside interests plundering so much wealth, often walking away from their impacts, leaving behind much destruction, destitution and despair. Seeing a future that might mirror the past, he urged Montanans to be more active as citizens, warning that otherwise the future could become an unwelcome one.

Here’s Howard in one of his best remembered speeches: ”We are living in a time of great moral crisis. If public honesty and personal dignity are to survive at all… you’re going to find it necessary to think and question, and to speak up and act on behalf of the original ideal of citizenship in a democracy….”. In that, he nailed the common predicament, then and now.

Years later, Kinsey Howard was discussed often during the Montana Constitutional Convention by delegates, staff and all, as they fashioned a new fundamental law. In my role as a ConCon Research Analyst and committee staffer, I had numerous conversations with ConCon delegates who knew about and were profoundly influenced by Howard.

No surprise, his insights are reflected throughout our document, in the delegates’ resolve to overcome the legacy of outside domination, some of which he knew occurred with the complicity of Montana’s leaders and residents. The delegates sought in their deliberations a freshened and more open approach to government — focused on promoting the common good, not mere private advantage, grift and gain — as they worked across party lines to produce the Constitution.

Howard’s beliefs — his legacy — continues, with his fingerprints all over the commendable work of today’s citizens tirelessly protecting the Constitution crafted 54 years ago; insisting on a more transparent, accountable and democratic approach to major decisions affecting the future. A few obvious, impressive examples: the efforts of the Friends of the Montana Constitution; the place-grounded work of the Northern Plains Resource Council; the courageous youth who audaciously asserted in court their inalienable right to a sustainable future…all insisting on the right to obtain documents and attend meetings; to participate in deliberations; to gather together and protest; to ensure the right to a clean and healthful environment; to exercise an unobstructed right to vote and initiate laws; and demanding what was once never in doubt — independence of the judiciary that must survive in order to protect the all-important rule of law and serve as a check on the legislative, executive and private sector excesses of the moment.

Each of these principles of democracy is enshrined in Montana’s Constitution. For the years ahead, the hope is that Montanans can avoid being swept up in distracting and divisive political noise of the day; and will remain active in the public arena, demanding a better future for our state and our citizens. And that they will continue to appreciate what Montanans have…the strongest, most protective, and effective state Constitution ever written. It’s right there, still a guiding inspiration for all.

Rick Applegate is a native Montanan, born and raised in Libby. He was researcher and staff analyst for the Bill of Rights Committee at the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention; staff director for US Senators and a member of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC. He worked for over thirty years in senior natural resource management positions in the Pacific Northwest. He resides in Tucson where he remains active in natural resource and social justice issues in the Sonoran Southwest.