Hiram Bennett

Before Colorado became a state, "law and order" came down to vigilantism, or a criminal code with three punishments: whipping, banishment, or death. Then Hiram Pitt Bennet came to Denver — with higher ideals and a small law library. He helped establish a People's Court, became the first public prosecutor, won the first seat in Congress for the territory, became a judge. But his role as toastmaster at a banquet the winter of 1876 may best summarize Hiram Bennet’s vision for a more civilized soon-to-be Centennial State. To those gathered that night, then writing the Colorado constitution, Bennet said: “[May it] contain all the good … found in the organic laws of … sister states, and none of the defects." And he toasted the press: “be animated by a spirit which shall love justice and uphold it … hate iniquity and scourge it."

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Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.