The United States of America was formed through struggles and the want for liberties of its people. For its people to have these liberties, the original colonies created a central government in the form of the constitution. However, the constitution was immensely broad when it came to certain topics. States began to create their own constitutions. These constitutions followed the federal standards set by the United States constitution, yet made different situations in each state clearer and gave specific instructions for certain situations. As times change with the generations, these constitutions are often updated. However, Texas has one of the longest constitutions, which has remained the same since 1876. The current argument surrounding the constitution is whether it is up to date with its amendments or if it should be rewritten. Texas has had six constitutions since it won its independence from Mexico in 1836. From the time of the first constitution to the current constitution in place, there were an abundance of influences on the ways the …show more content…
The goal of the constitution of to remove the excess of power controlled by individual members of the Texas government, mainly the powers of the governor. The new constitution also set limits for government spending and the terms of political positions that were not defined in the United States constitution. The constitutions of 1876 allowed people to directly vote on amendments placed in its new constitution. With the guidance of the federal government, the constitution allowed for suffrage for former slaves and women in Texas. There have been 673 amendments proposed for the Texas constitution and 491 amendments that were actually adopted. With all the progress that has happened in the transition of the constitution a new problem has risen, is the constitution too cluttered and
The amendments can be ratified by a simple majority of the people. Every 20 years, the people of the state are asked if a constitutional convention needs to be called to amend the constitution. A convention is called if majority of the people vote on having a convention. The Texas Constitution can be amended if two-thirds of members in both houses of the state legislature propose it, and the majority of the people vote on it in an election. Just like the Constitution of Maryland, the Texas amendments can be ratified by a simple majority of the people. Unlike Maryland, Texas is one of the six states that do not hold constitutional conventions
The Texas Constitution of 1876 Certainly once one becomes familiar with the Texas Constitution and the Reconstruction period, they would recognize the need to redraft an entirely new document. Even though we can amend outdated legislation, this has contributed to the excessive length of the Texas Constitution. To date, there has been more than four-hundred and seventy- four amendments, and instead of organizing or thoughtfully placing these amendments with their correlating articles in the constitution, the amendments are scattered haphazardly throughout the body of the document. This exorbitantly long and restrictive document can be thought of as a model of what a constitution should not be.
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
The Texas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution share many similarities, but also are very different. Both documents share basic principles of a democratic government. The Texas and U.S. Constitution both contain civil liberty protections and protections against government transgression. Both constitutions share a federal government system in which the smaller areas or states have less power than the national government. Bicameral houses, checks and balances, and separation of powers are prevalent in both documents. Even though these two constitutions have many similarities, they also share many differences. The differences stem from the origin of their creation, the U.S. Constitution was created to replace the Articles of Confederation because
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.
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.
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
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.
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
These constitutions will follow the laws of the US Constitution. Texas has had six constitutions before the final one had been written. The first constitution, Coahuila y Tejas was written in 1827 when Texas was a part of Mexico. In 1836 Texas declared independence from Mexico and made its own Constitution, this Constitution was known as the Republic of Texas. The third constitution was the Constitution of 1845 ,this constitution was made when Texas had joined the Union (United States) deciding not to be independent.
The Texas Constitution was amended in 1993, during Governor William P. Clements’ second administration, to prohibit a state income tax. Therefore, any such proposal would have serious difficulties passing both chambers of the legislature and then it would be subject to ratification through a statewide referendum. Texas’ lack of a state income tax seems to have enhanced its economy vitality with this approach. It also lacks a corporate income tax, which is not prohibited by the Constitution. Texas is one of seven
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.
Though there have been many changes made to the original Texas Constitution, the most radical and long lasting being the Constitution of 1876. The most recent attempts to rewrite the Constitution happened in 1974 and 1999. The
Texas calling on Congress to convene a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution and wrest power from the federal government. Abbott and other supporters of the effort contend that the states must rein in a federal government that has run amok. They want amendments that would restrict federal spending, limit federal power and enact term limits on federal officials and members of Congress.
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.