The Constitution of 1836 is notably the most important Texan Constitution. This Constitution was written to list out and define the functions of the government of the Republic of Texas. The reason why Texas declared its independence to Mexico was due to escalating tensions between Texas and Mexico. Texas declared its independence in 1836, and established itself as the Republic of Texas, and created a new constitution. The Texas Constitution of 1836 borrowed many ideas from the U.S. Constitution. The new charter was brief, and was composed of less than 6,500 words. Its features included, separation of powers into three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—with a system of checks and balances. It created a bicameral legislature, with
The 1876 Texas State constitution is the basic framework of today’s legislature it consists of three branches the legislative branch which is comprised of the house and senate, and the executive and judiciary branch. In the following paragraphs we will discuss the Texas legislature’s major responsibilities relative to checks and balances.
Texas has been through a lot of changes and constitutions. After constants debates of what the constitution should be, the current Texas constitution was established in 1876 and is the 7th constitution Texas has had. It created 3 branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The current constitution has great qualities, but it also contains a lot of weaknesses that shouldn’t be ignored for the sake of pride.
In the Texas Constitution it talks about information that just deals with Texas alone, that the U.S. Constitution doesn't have. For one, it talks about Education. Explaining how it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the state to establish and make suitable provisions for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools. The Texas Constitution also includes information about corporations, municipal and private. It has the Spanish and Mexican Land titles under it which no other state has in their constitution. And finally the Texas Constitution establishes rules concerning railroads.
The History of Texas Texas history itself had its own amazing story. The small number of American settlers moved to the land of Texas had led to the dramatic war with the Mexicans. The land of Texas was used to be owned by Mexicans. Due to the argument between Texans and Mexicans caused the battle of San Jacinto and Mexican War. In long ago before American settlers moved to Texas, this place was so rich and an abundance of land.
In 1836, the new Texas Constitution was written during the war for independence which had a separation of governmental powers, a bill of rights, a bicameral legislature. This had many adopted aspects from the Spanish and Mexican laws. In 1845, was modeled after other southern states and therefore referred to as the Statehood Constitution (Newell, 44). It embraced democratic principles and was influenced by Jacksonian democracy. In 1861, the Constitution was modified when Texas joined the Confederate States of America, this was called The Civil War Constitution. This is when Texas seceded to join the confederacy. In 1866, was on the losing side of the war and Texas was ordered by Andrew Jackson to revise the document. This new document abolished slavery and declared secession illegal. In 1869, reconstruction of the Constitution happened yet again because radical reconstructionists in Washington wanted southern states to write new constitutions with tougher standards. The present constitution the document was careful about what government could do and couldn’t do. This document has changed a bit and has had over 467 revisions but it is still the document that is used present day.
The constitution of 1824 required that each state make their own constitution, and Coahuila and Texas was formed as a single state under the federal republic of Mexico
Texas and California are two states in the US that are comparable in terms of their population, resources, size, economy and constitution. The Texas Constitution is the foundation of the statehood of Texas within which the government operates in the same way that U.S. constitution governs the affairs of the whole country with its allocated power. The Texas constitution has a huge influence on the daily lives of Texans Possibly even more than the U.S. Constitution. Although all states have its own constitution, Texas and California have different ways in which they gained their constitution. Like most state in the U.S. The state of California gained its constitution after the civil war, the constitution was ratified in 1879 and It is similar to the Texas constitution in many ways. Both constitutions are founded on the unanimous vote of its people and are grounded by the rule of
From all the constitutions that Texas has had throughout the years, the one that has stood out from the rest it would be the 1876 version, which is the one Texas still uses in this current point of time. All throughout history we have had 7 constitutions in Texas all through the time of 1836-1876. So, with all these different versions of the constitution of Texas the real question is where did Texas get the foundation for its constitution? The answer is from the U.S constitution, which leads to the purpose of this essay. We will be discussing the similarities and differences, the historical reasons for the restrictive nature of the Texas Constitution, limiting state government, details and how the bill of rights for both Texas and U.S protects
We follow regulations everyday of our lives. Whether it be making a complete stop at a stop sign, paying our taxes, or refraining ourselves from cutting off the tag of a mattress. It’s important to know what rules we and our elected officials are held accountable for. Being aware and knowing the difference between the United States and Texas Constitution allows citizens to be apprehensive of what is happening in our government. The topics on the amending and impeachment system and the Judicial and Executive Branch grant insight of the proceedings in our governments.
The Texas Constitution has evolved in many ways throughout history. Before the current constitution there were five predecessors. There were many factors that effected each of the five constitutions. After very long governance by Spain and Mexico and a small war with Mexico, the Texans finally won their independence. The first constitution had become official in September of 1836. This first constitution was called the Republic Of Texas Constitution. After struggling for about nine years to become apart of the Union, Texas’s second constitution was created. The Second constitution was called the Statehood Constitution and was thought to be one of the best constitutions of time. The Jacksonian Democracy greatly influenced the Statehood Constitution. The idea of the Jacksonian Democracy was to increase the people’s participation in the government. This Constitution lasted about 16 years until Texas joined the Confederate Sates of America in 1861. This third constitution was called the Civil War Constitution. The main goal was to modify the
From March 2, 1836 to February 19, 1846, Texas as its own independent country in North America. Those who resided in this independent country were referred to as Texians. Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 during the Texas revolution which ended on April 21 of that same exact year. However, Mexico did not want to give the Republic of Texas its independence which resulted in conflicts between that of Texas and Mexico that went on into the 1840s. As a result, The United States of America recognized the Republic of Texas as an independent country in 1837 but failed to append their land. Later receiving its independence, Texas elected a Congress of fourteen senators and twenty-nine representatives in the month of September and year of 1836. However, within the Republic, citizenship was not a privileged for everybody living in Texas. Not everybody had legal rights to reside within the limits of the Republic without Congress permission. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas created differences for each and every ethnicity for each individual person. Meaning, whoever was there on the day the Republic of Texas won their independence had to be classified as a citizen of the Republic including Africans, those with African descent, and Native Americans. For Caucasian immigrants to become citizens they would have to had lived in the Republic for six months or less and take an oath. Those who were brought to Texas as a slave had to stay a
On September 17, 1787, the U.S. constitution was signed. The U.S. constitution is a document that has a set of rules, guidelines, and principles that governs our nation. This constitution is the oldest written national document and has had 27 amendments. The current Texas constitution is the seventh document written for Texas. The previous six were all when Texas was still apart of Mexico. The current constitution hasn’t been revised since 1876, which makes it the longest state constitution in the United States.
The constitution mandates the legislators to hold biennial sessions; however, the governor also has the constitutional power to call for special or emergency sessions. Accordingly, the constitution empowers the legislators to amend the constitution, set policies, and also manage all state run institutional affairs. As mentioned in the first question, the constitution empowers the legislators to conduction processes such as legislative oversight and constituent functions, which are necessary whenever it comes to the implementation of government policies and programs. In a nutshell, the constitution of Texas simply provides a means for the legislators to follow the law especially when it comes to performing critical functions of the
The Texas legislature, as stated by Champagne, Harpham, & Casellas, is a bicameral legislature compromised of two chambers. That is, the Senate and the Texas House of Representatives (2017, p. 211). It includes 31 senators and 150 House members. The legislature serves as the most critical establishment that aids in representing the state (Champagne et al., 2017, p.211). Members of the Texas state legislature must meet the essential requirements, perform their duties to the best of their ability, represent citizens, and attend sessions.
There has been seven Texas Constitutions since 1827 including our current Constitution, which was established on 1876. Our current constitution has been amended hundreds of times because of its tight restrictions. The Legislative department is the dominant branch of the Texas Constitution it is subject to check and balances in the tripartite system. The Executive department limits the government’s power, and the judicial powers is divided into smaller courts. These three branches of the Texas are examples of how restricted and limited our constitution is.