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 of the Republic of Texas was written in 1836 between the fall of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio and Sam Houston's stunning victory at San Jacinto. The constitution was written quickly and while on the run from Santa Anna. It was written by George Childress along with Sam Houston. .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 amended 439 times and consists of seventeen amendments. The Constitution of the United States and the Texas Constitution share many similarities. They also have important differences due to different attitudes about what the role of government should be. It is important to know the limits of the state’s power as it can help us better understand our role as a Texas citizen. The U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution have similarities and differences. First, both constitutions consist of a Bill of Rights. This is a formal summary of the rights and liberties considered essential to a people or group of people. The individual rights provide a variety of restraints on political power to protect people against unwarranted intrusions and abuses. Also, in both constitutions it outlines and talks about the powers of government in each separate department. Both talk about suffrage, taxation and revenue, along with general provisions, and modes of amending the c... ... middle of paper ... ...iminal code, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, both are equal in prominence and decision-making capability. M most positions in the US Government outside of the President and Congress are appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate. In Texas, only the Governor's and Lt. Governor's aides and some cabinet positions are appointed, all other positions are elected, including that of the State Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts (basically, the State Accountant and Tax Assessor), and Railroad Commissioner (who controls and regulates the state's land and mineral resources). On a final note, both Constitutions were created for the same purpose namely, to withhold the fundamental principles of a nation. They are governed by a group of people who limit and regulate the basic rules. Texas has had a constitution for each political condition of its history.
The American way of living and thinking in Texas have changed tremendously over the past century. Political ideals are one thing that changes with time, and have transformed with the changing times well. The Texas constitution of 1876 was a landmark for the state and has been part of the state’s history since then. The Texas constitution of 1876 is still in use today but with all its harsh restrictions it is considered one of the most confusing of all the state constitutions. The constitution became one of the most prominent changes to Texas education system and politics.
Researching and reading about both documents entirely enforces the notion that to govern is to control, influence, or regulate. All these laws and rights make for a controlled environment to live in which is being constantly questioned and infracted unpin everyday. The Founding Fathers put forth an amazing document that will live on for years and years to pass.
Our Legislative Branch has two chambers or as some will call it bicameral. The chambers consist of the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the National Legislative Branch. In our Senate we currently have a total of 31 members and there are 150 members in the House of Representatives. Senators hold their seat for 4 years and their election years are spread out while the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms. In our Texas Legislature we have a few authority figures. “The Texas Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor shall serve as president of the senate, the presiding officer of that body. The lieutenant governor is elected statewide by voters of Texas and is the second-highest ranking officer of the executive branch of government”. (Texas Medical Associaton) In the House of Representatives we have a Speaker of the House who is chosen in each time a new legislature starts by its own members. “The speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.” (Joe Straus Speaker) There are also many committees who act as important gatekeepers and shape the proposed legislation. (University of Texas at Austin). The main pu...
By 1875 the need to rewrite the Texas Constitution had become very evident, and a Convention was held to rewrite the Constitution. The constitution written then was the fifth that the state has been ruled under, and is the one still in place today. At that point in Texas history, the state was primarily agricultural,
The United States Constitution is one of the most used documents in American History, as it is the foundation of American democracy. Within the constitution, the tenth amendment grants, “…The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Thus, Texas also has a Constitution, which outlines important powers within the state, itself. Both of these documents are extremely important to understand together, but to also understand their differences. Some examples of the differences between the Texas State Constitution and the United States Constitution include, the powers of the President and the Governor, the varying Legislative sessions,
Its breakdown in Mexican Statehood was caused by Gnereal Santa Anna’s centralized all power in Mexico City and limited U.S. trade, and the Battle of the Alamo was the final nail in the coffin. Then Texas was called the Republic of the Rio Grande, and the capital was Laredo. It was a small country that only existed in 1840, but it was never officially recognized. The second constitution was the Republic of Texas in 1836 to 1845. It was an independent nation that nearly copied the US Document. Texas mandated homestead protections, establish wife and community property rights, and legalized slavery. The Republic of Texas breakdown caused by the US Statehood in 1845. After, the Republic of Texas became the State of Texas in 1845. This breakdown when economic tyranny by the north and slavery. 1861 - 1865, the Confederate State of Texas replaced US with Confederacy in the documents of 1845 and banned the freeing of slaves. It breakdown caused by the lose of Confederacy in Civil War. The history of how Texas got to the current constitution can be compare to the Mexico history. As Texas gained their independence from Mexico, Mexico gained their independence from Spain.
The government of the state of Texas is a difficult and complicated institution that is composed of many different levels. The question comes in to everyone's mind at one time or another whether or not to trust the government. It could be that people believe that the officials will take advantage of their power, or simply people don't like the idea of being controlled by someone who is not a family member or friend. To avoid this centralized power, the government is divided into stages and this is a reasonable ground for trusting the government. Government runs this state and it does deserve to be trusted.
The first recognizable difference between the constitutions is structure and length. The Texas constitution consists of seventeen articles while the US constitution only has seven articles. However, parts of the Texas constitution were removed or repealed. These repeals happen in 1969 the article thirteen of the Texas Constitution under the title of Spanish and Mexican Land Titles, and sections
In creating the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including a rather defensive reaction, but also an understanding reaction. As a document that provided the laws of the land and the rights of its people. It directs its attention to the many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document lent itself to several views and interpretations, depending upon the individual reading it. It is clear that the founders’ perspectives as white, wealthy or elite class, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution.
In 1787, The United States of America formally replaced the Articles of Confederation with a wholly new governing document, written by the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This document, known as the Constitution, has served as the supreme law of our land for the past 228 years. It has stood the test of time and a majority of Americans still support it today (Dougherty). The Constitution was designed in a way that allows for it to be amended, in order to address changing societal needs. Article V discusses the process by which the Constitution can be altered. This feature has enabled it to stay in effect and keep up with current times. The Constitution should not be rewritten every 19 years because it would not only weaken its importance, but it would also hurt foreign relations and continuously rewriting it would give political parties too much power.
Roles of the branches are similar in structure and administration. The legislative branches are made up of 2 houses of congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Executive branch for the U.S. government is led by the President while Texas is led by the Governor. Both leaders are elected for 4-year terms with limited connections to all 3 branches. There must be a balance of power between the 3 branches of state and federal governments. Historically when this was not the case, governments struggled to be consistent. According to Sam Ervin (1970), “Even in the republic of Rome, there was a somewhat similar system consisting of public assemblies, the senate and public officials all operating on a principle of checks and balances.” (p. 108) Today this holds true as both the state and federal government branches must be on one accord to maintain the balance needed to ensure the people are well
The Texas constitution provided the people with equal rights under the Constitution of the United States, by doing so, this allowed for the people to have access to liberties they were not inclined to prior. The institution I chose to address in this paper is that of the judicial, because under the judicial article of the Texas constitution it gives great examples of being democratic in nature. The first specific about the judicial institution is that, unlike the federal government, the judicial article implements partisan election. In federal courts, judges are appointed, and the people do not get to vote. Whereas in Texas, it's the people's choice. Judges are than elected based on the popular vote. Judges in Texas are also given limitations to the time they are allowed to serve by having terms in place. For supreme and criminal appeal courts the term limit is six years, district courts are four years, and all other courts are two years.
Constitution, creates a unitary executive whereas the Texas Constitution creates a plural executive government. In the Texas Constitution, the government is plural executive and disperses the power among several elected officials. On the other hand, the U.S. Constitution creates a unitary executive, which concentrates the executive power on a single representative, the president. The president has a right to veto any bill he dislikes, but the Congress is also able to approve a bill if the president refuses to adopt it. In the Texas Constitution, there is a line-veto which allows the governor to veto specific items on the legislature of bills passed. The Texas government is more of a limited government whereas the U.S. constitution grants power to the president. Furthermore, in the U.S. Constitution the legislative branch is responsible for making the laws being very limited in government spending, and in the Texas Constitution there were detailed restrictions on tax and specific policies depending on the states legislatures. Legislatures are not allowed to oppose a tax on personal income and are forbidden to make states government develop into debt. Even though the Constitution was ratified, the anti-federalist adopted the Bill of Rights, which promises basic human rights to citizens. Moreover, 27 amendments are in the U.S. Constitution; nevertheless, the state
The constitution in itself decentralizes power because in the Reconstruction of 1869 the main goal was to avoid the happenings of past constitutions that allowed too much power to be given to the Governor’s office that caused corruption and turmoil. Because of the money that was stolen, the lost property of citizens, and businesses, the Texas Constitution made the office of the governor weak. The government structure is now referred to as a Plural Executive, meaning the power is spread out throughout executive positions. These executives are now state wide elected officials that represent the values of the percentage of the population who vote, who are mostly white, of higher income and higher education. The agriculture commissioner is responsible for varieties of programs that promotes agricultural economy and encourage healthy living. The land commissioner serves as the head of the Texas General Land Commission which manages land and mineral rights. The comptroller heads the department that tracks all state money and they provide the framework for developing the state’s biannual budget which can then be signed by the governor and back to the comptroller to at least balance out the budget that the State of Texas is constitutionally obligated to adhere to. Until the comptroller certifies that the budget is balanced or a
Before entering the United States, Texas had a few other existing constitutions, the Coahuila y Tejas, the 1836 constitution of the Republic of Texas, and a few others. The current Texas Constitution included nearly 289 sections which were then organized into 17 different articles upon being ratified in the year 1876. After this 211 additional sections have been included, but 66 of the original Texas constitution sections along with 49 of the newly added sections have thus been removed. Today in total the Texas constitution holds 385 sections. From the year 1876 to the year January 2015 it is noted that the Texas legislature has proposed more than or equal to 666 amendments to Texas's current constitution. The Texas Constitution is comprised of 17 different