In the early 1970s, frustrated with the corporate boot that dominated and bullied Montanans, the state’s people rose up. Led by ordinary citizens like Pastor George Harper of Helena, local historian and mother of six Louise Cross of Glendive, and League of Women Voters leader Dorothy Eck of Bozeman, they crafted what is now recognized as a world-renowned Constitution.

Among many important motivations was their conviction that in order to free Montanans from corporate dominance at the expense of workers, farmers and ordinary citizens, the state’s people must have an independent advocat...