Lauren Jarnach

DPhil Research Topic

Writing the American West: Negotiating Bills of Rights in the Nebraska, Washington, Oklahoma, and Arizona Constitutions

Supervisors: Adam Smith and Nicholas Cole

My research examines rhetorical argument and procedural mechanisms employed by the Nebraska, Washington, Oklahoma, and Arizona constitutional conventions in negotiating their bills of rights, with a particular attention to how rhetoric and procedure were employed to achieve certain exclusionary textual outcomes. The question of citizens’ constitutionally-guaranteed rights is both a historical and textual one. Understanding these documents relies upon understanding the moment in which they were written and the mechanics of writing. The post-Civil War constitutions in the American West are an especially interesting case that demonstrates state drafters’ engagement with federal conversations and constitutional change after a major political event—the Reconstruction amendments and Civil War—which bore directly upon civil rights. By probing the relationship between federal constitutional change, state constitutional drafting, and bills of rights through the lens of the procedure that created the state texts, my project contributes to the history of constitution writing and the modern political conversation. As the state-federal relationship and partisan politics are persistent topics in the interpretation of constitutions, the implications for study go beyond these specific case studies to develop a framework for understanding the relationship between procedure and constitutional drafting in the wake of major political events with strong partisan attitudes.

Academic Background

I hold a Master of Studies (MSt) in English Literature (1700-1830) from Kellogg College, University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Literature and Art History from the University of Alabama.

Prior to beginning my DPhil, I worked for six years as a Senior Documentary Editor at the Quill Project, Pembroke College, University of Oxford, where I researched and edited digital editions of American state constitutions, the Indian Constitution, and the Australian Constitution.

Publications

Lauren Davis Jarnach, “Negotiating the Arizona Constitution: The Role of Parliamentary Procedure in Ensuring Democratic Textual Outcomes”, The Docket, 8, no. 1-2 (2025): https://lawandhistoryreview.org/article/lauren-davis-jarnach-negotiating...

Lauren Davis, Aaron Kushner, Harriet Carter, Elizabeth Green, Annabel Harris, Grace Penn, Nicholas Jacobs (eds.), Arizona Constitutional Convention (1910) [2023 Edition], Quill Project at Pembroke College (Oxford, 2023)

Lauren Davis, Kieran Hazzard, Elizabeth Green, Grace Penn, and Grace Mallon (eds.), U.S. Constitutional Convention 1787 (2021 Edition), Quill Project at Pembroke College (Oxford, 2021).

Lauren Davis, Nick Williford, Sebastian Bates, and, Elizabeth Green, Grace Penn, and Lusiana Castiglione (eds.), United States Bill of Rights 1789 (2021 Edition), Quill Project at Pembroke College (Oxford, 2021).