In 1857, after Oregon voters had voted for statehood, they subsequently called for a constitutional convention.

The emergent constitution contained 185 sections, 172 of which were taken from various other state constitutions, with the additions primarily being racial exclusion or finance related.[14] The document enshrined an exclusion law into Section 35 of the Bill of Rights within the Oregon State Constitution.[15] The article read as follows:

No free negro or mulatto not residing in this state at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall come, reside or be within this state or hold any real estate, or make any contracts, or maintain any suit therein; and the legislative assembly shall provide by penal laws for the removal by public officers of all such negroes and mulattoes, and for their effectual exclusion from the state, and for the punishment of persons who shall bring them into the state, or employ or harbor them.[15]

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In 1925, the Oregon legislature proposed the formal repeal of Section 35, adopted as House Joint Resolution 8 (1925). The measure was referred to Oregon voters as a 1926 ballot initiative which was approved with 62.5% in favor.