A constitution is the fundamental principles of government in a nation, either implied in its laws, institutions, and customs, or embodied in one fundamental document. The U.S. Constitution was completed on September 17, 1789 and has served as a model for the constitutions of many other nations. The constitution of the United States of America is the oldest written national constitution in use and consists of twenty-seven amendments. The state of Texas has had six constitutions. The constitution that took effect on February 15, 1876 is the current one still used today. The Texas Constitution is the second longest constitution in the United States, and one of the oldest still in effect. Since the constitution has been adopted it has been …show more content…
but it also extends beyond federal protections. 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 U.S Constitution also contains articles the Texas Constitution doesn't. The U.S. constitution talks about what privileges the states have. The rules they have to abide by to make the nation one. In the Texas Constitution it goes more into depth about what the state wants the people to abide by. The U.S. Constitution also talks about how our Government officials are elected. It includes how long they serve, what happens if they are impeached, removed from office, or pass away; their terms of office. Another topic is the abolition of slavery. Thus, making slavery illegal in all parts of the United States. Finally, it explains that congress can not raise its own pay. Yes they can raise the pay, but it will not go in affect until the next election. Although there are differences between
In the Texas Constitution, there are seventeen articles in total and the first one being the Bill of Rights. On the other hand, the United States Constitution has seven articles; the first articles discuss the legislative powers. Although, Texas and the national constitution have similarities such as the protection and order of the citizens; they also have differences which is the structure and features of the constitution.
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
The Texas and the U.S constitution are very similar in principle, a constitution in the book is defined as “the legal structure of a government, which establishes its power and authority as well as the limits on power.”(pg.71) This definition sets the basis of which the Texas and U.S consititution are based on, essentially they are a governing document. In addition there are five major ideologies that unite both constitutions. The first, is political power being derived from ‘the people’. This may be done through our voting system. Second, Three separate branches of government (division of political power) these are the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Third, the governing document has a system created to ensure that no branch, party, or person may abuse their duty or responsibility; also known as the system of “checks and balances”. Fourthly, the idea of individual rights; “the concern for preventing the emergence of tyranny is also found in the fourth idea”(pg.71) and Finally the concept of federalism, which is a system of power is divided within the government, that included and central government, and many more regional (by area)
The U.S. constitution and the Texas constitution have similarities and differences. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a summary of the rights given to all people. These constitutions also talk about suffrage and taxes. Just like how both of these constitutions have similarities, they also have differences. The Texas constitution is longer than the U.S. constitution and discusses the rights first. It also deals with state and local issues not brought up in the U.S. constitution. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights, but the Texas constitution discusses citizens’ rights at the beginning of article one. The Texas Bill of Rights has the same protections for citizens like the U.S. Bill of Rights does, but the Texas Bill of Rights extends beyond federal protections. The executive branch is the branch that the president is in charge of. The definition of the executive branch is “The branch of federal and state government that is broadly
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
The Texas Constitution (1876) as well as the United States Constitution (1791) have a plethora of similarities conceptually, as they are both rooted with the same ideologies of democracy. However, what sets these two documents apart is that the Texas constitution goes into more depth on laws and how its government works. In contrast, the US Constitution is more vague allowing it to be a far more timeless and living document. This paper will be comparing and contrasting these four provisions from the U.S and Texas Constitutions: The Bill of Rights, amending the constitution, the legislative branch, and the executive branch.
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
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 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
The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document representing the structure and function of the Texas government. The current Constitution took effect on February 15, 1876 and is the sixth Constitution in the history of Texas. When first constructed, the Texas Constitution was a poorly organized document that did not explain clearly the responsibility for government actions. Since its conception (through June 2011), there have been 646 proposed amendments and 476 adopted amendments added to this document. The Texas Constitution is also highly restrictive; it only grants enumerated powers to the State of Texas and does not allow for implied powers. The constant change to this Constitution has added to its poor organized condition that is extremely difficult to understand, even by the courts.
Constitution of Texas is the main source of state law. The Constitution also contains different
The Texas constitution is very similar to that of the original document of 1876. Newer amendments were created overtime to further the Texas Constitution to a modern form of governing since the first signing and implementation of these original rules. The old draft is said to have had “incorporated protection for various private interests” (Newell 2013). The original draft was “poorly organized”, and difficult to read, much less interpret, even by the courts” (Newell 2013). The final document being outdated influenced critical structure and powers of the government to create the revision.
The Texas Constitution and the US
Constitutions are a necessary tool in keeping a Nation running in a smooth manner. One is also necessary in keeping the components, which are states, running in an ordered way. The constitution of Texas has a long historical trail from 1827 to 1876 and there are many events that occurred during this time period. The current Texas constitution has many strengths and weaknesses and there have been revisions made to this document. This document limits the way government can be involved in certain problems that arise in Texas. The Texas constitution is a document with positives and negatives but it is definitely a necessity.
Currently, the Texas Constitution has 87,000 words and continues growing because of constant amendments for modern society. That is overkill compared to the United States Constitution. A constitution should be like a guideline containing just the fundamental basics allowing society to function well and balanced. It should not dictate to deal with actions but encourage a way of life. A generally written constitution provides an idea, agreed by the Framers, so people in society would behave within an orderly