The political climate during the Texas constitutional convention in 1875 was mainly characterized by the determination of Democrats to undo the effects that had been brought about by the radical constitution of 1969. When Democrats regained power in 1873 from Governor Edmund J. Davis, they prioritized the drafting of a new constitution for the people of Texas. How the Administration of Governor E.J. Influenced the New Constitution 1. The Judiciary The new constitution sought to limit the powers of the judiciary. The judicial article provided for the creation of a supreme court, a court of appeals, district courts, county courts, commissioners' courts, and justices of the peace. It also divided the courts into two systems, one that dealt with …show more content…
criminal trials and the other dealt with civil cases. It passed that All judges would be elected by popular vote with relatively shorter terms. 2. Appointments to Public Office The legislation under the administration of Davis gave him authority to appoint people to fill approximately 8,500 jobs in various levels of government that had been left vacant when the iron clad oath was enforced. This kind of appointive power given to the governor was unprecedented in Texas as the Jacksonian Democracy had always kept governors weak. This was however corrected by the new constitution which stripped the governor of the power to appoint some state officials.
Even though the governor was still empowered to appoint some officials and fill vacancies, he was not given control over local and other elected state officials. 3. Police Department The administration of Governor Davis empowered the creation of a state militia under his control which was used to maintain law and order when local officials failed or refused to do so. He also used the state police to put down unruly and violent groups opposing reconstruction and declared martial law in some Counties when law enforcement machinery broke down. The State Police were given the authority to operate anywhere in the state, hence overruling local law enforcement officials. The coercive force of the state militia, state police, and martial law enraged the majority as did the fact that Reconstruction placed state government in the hands of Republicans. The new constitution forbade any unreasonable searches, imprisonment because of debt, and guaranteed freedom of speech and press, the right of accused persons to get bail and tried by a jury. The constitution also stripped the governor of his power to declare martial law. 4. Public Education The centralized school system which was supported by the administration of Governor Davis was
weakened. The article on education greatly changed the education system that had been established by the Republicans. It abolished the office of state superintendent and in its place founded a board of education which composed of the governor, controller, and secretary of state. It also eliminated compulsory attendance and provided for segregated schools and did not make a provision for local school taxes. 5. Legislature The legislatures under Governor Davis administration was characterized by a lot of corruption and lavish spending. The legislature had the most active and expensive program Texas had ever seen. The powers and limitations of the legislature were greatly defined in the legislative article in the new constitution. The legislature was to be composed of two houses, a Senate and a House of Representatives and their maximum sitting and mileage allowance was set. The salaries of the legislature were also reduced. In conclusion, the Davis administration together with the Congressional Reconstruction was very unpopular among the majority of Texans. In 1875, they held a constitutional convention that sought to replace the Constitution of 1869. In 1876, they adopted the present constitution which was mainly designed to prevent the recurrence of an active government.
From five states arose delegates who would soon propose an idea that would impact the United States greatly. The idea was to hold a meeting in Philadelphia called the Constitutional Convention in 1787 meant to discuss the improvements for the Articles of Confederation and would later be called the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution was greatly influenced by Ancient Rome, the Enlightenment, and Colonial Grievances.
In Federalist no. 78 Hamilton explains the powers and duties of the judiciary department as developed in Article III of the Constitution. Article III of the Constitution is very vague on the structure of the federal courts. Hamilton had to convince Americans that the federal courts would not run amok. He presented that the federal courts would not have unlimited power but that they would play a vital role in the constitutional government. Hamilton limited judiciary power by defining it as a text-bound interpretative power. (R.B Bernstein) This essay was intended to endorse as well as interpret the Constitution.
The office of president of the Republic of Texas was superseded and the state governor was first established in the Constitution of 1845 (“Phillip, Fry,” 2010) The Constitution of 1845 vested executive power in the governor and the election was done by the qualified voters of the State. In comparison, the Constitution of 1876 created plural executive, dividing the executive power among a governor, lieutenant-governor, Secretary of State, comptroller of public accounts, treasurer, commissioner of the general land office, attorney general and all of the officers of the executive department. All of these positions are elected by qualified voters except the Secretary of State who is appointed by the governor. The governor remains the commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the State and the militia in both the Constitutions. Also, the Constitution of 1845 placed a limit on the governor’s salary to two thousand dollars annually, which was amended on November 2, 1954 removing this limit. Although there has not been much change in the requirements to become a governor, the Constitution of 1845 limited the governor to two two-year terms in six years compared to the four-year term in the Constitution of 1876 (“Constitution of Texas,” n.d.; “Texas Constitution,” n.d.)
For almost fifty years, from 1827 to 1876, seven constitutions were adopted and implemented for Taxes and each one has its set of laws and contained specific ways, aimed at correcting the deficiencies and drawbacks of the previously adopted order. The Constitution of 1876 is the sixth one, which set the rules and laws for Texas government since the state has achieved its independence from Mexico in 1836. The constitution established the principles of Texas Democratic Government and specified the laws, which were applied to the three branches of government: legislative, juridical and executive.
The Texas Legislature is far too archaic to provide consistent leadership for a state government; Congress has become too enmeshed with the executive branch and leaves blurry lines drawn in its separation of powers. The ideal legislature would be a modernized version of what the Texas Constitution created.
Until the 1980’s Texas was dominated by the Democratic Party, they abrupt change in was due to many factors such as the change in the Democratic Party’s view. According the reading the “The Democratic party dominated Texas politics until the 1960s 1970s in a large part because it was seen as the party
rights reserved to the states, crush civil liberties, and restore monarchy. He saw the confederacy was the
The 1787 Constitutional Convention was paramount in unifying the states after the Revolutionary War. However, in order to do so, the convention had to compromise on many issues instead of addressing them with all due haste. This caused the convention to leave many issues unresolved. Most notably were the issues of slavery, race, secession, and states’ rights. Through the Civil War and the Reconstruction, these issues were resolved, and in the process the powers of the federal government were greatly expanded.
Unlike the United States Executive Branch, where the President of the United States appoints his cabinet, the Executive Department of the State of Texas is all elected by the public with the exception of the Secretary of State and the State Board of Education, which are appointed. With this power being distributed by the voters, it makes the Executive Branch less powerful than the other two branches in the state. This weakness in the branch was even stated in a Wall Street Journal article by Jonathan Weisman in 2011, “By constitutional design that dates to Reconstruction, Texas has a weak governorship. In addition to the legislature, power is diffused among 270 agencies, boards and commissions”. This statement alone certainly conveys that the Executive Branch has clearly been weaker than the other two branches of authority in the State of Texas.
The constitution establish major governing institutions, assign institution’s power, place explicit and implicit control on power granted. All this gives the political legitimacy. The U.S constitution gives the base model for state constitution for Texas.
The Constitution is the foundation of our county it represents liberty and justice for all. We are able to live freely and do, as we desire because of the constitution. The constitution was, signed September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It took time and many debates were held before an agreement was achieved in both the drafting and ratification of the constitution. These disagreements came with several compromises before the constitution was fully ratified on May 29, 1790, with Rhode Island being the last and the thirteenth. The First, challenge was the Articles of Confederation; it was a sort of a draft of the Constitution but was weak and inadequate. Second, obstacle was the Anti-Federalists fight for more
The Reconstruction Era, 1865 to 1877, was a period marked by a number of overridden President Johnson vetoes and a push for establishing basic rights and citizenship for African Americans. Along with this period of change came three new Amendments—the Thirteenth, the Fourteenth and the Fifteenth—which secured the rights of recently emancipated slaves. The Fourteenth Amendment was directed at the states to recognize and protect life, liberty and property and the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights. It transferred the federal power to the states, but also gave the federal government the right to oversee the states and enforce the Amendment. The most significant part, section one,
The constitutional convention began in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. The thirteen colonies involved at the time we ruled under the Articles of Confederation. The articles however became weak had flaws that the founding fathers noticed quickly with the states appearing to have individual power. On September 14, 1786 a meeting was established that gave out a call for the upcoming grand convention. Attendance was a huge issue in congress. The delegates from those states believed that is they didn’t show up then nothing can happen, but everything happens anyways. After the Annapolis meeting, selected delegates from the colonies met in Pennsylvania. They had to create and make new laws for the constitution; such as, establishing a unified currency.
After the war America had won its independence from Britain. America was still in trouble. There was too much power in the hands of the people this was leading to a new kind of tyranny. America was becoming a mess and something needed to be done. The government needed to be granted more power. This is where the timely framing and ratification of the new constitution comes into play.
The ratification of the Texas constitution of 1876 helped to transition and establish what was the republic of Texas into the state of Texas. This paper will focus on the judicial institution in the state of Texas. Specifically, the election of judges, the setup of the court system, the different types of courts, and how these three specifics about the judicial institution are democratic in nature.