The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845. On March 2, 1836, Texas declared itself an independent republic due to a lack of support from the U.S. in their revolutionary movement. The citizens of Texas approved an annexation ordinance and a new constitution on October 13, 1845. On December 29, 1845, the U.S. admitted the State of Texas to the Union. After the Texas voters ratified secession from the Union on February 23, 1861, the Secession Convention reconvened. Convention delegates believed it was their duty to direct the transition of Texas from a state in the U.S. to one of the Confederate States of America. Most laws not in conflict with the Confederacy remained valid. A clause permitting …show more content…
and Texas Constitutions are similar documents. They both represent the principles of representative democratic government, in which power originated from the people. Both contain a bill of rights that protects civil liberties from government infringement, both provide for two branches of legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate and both request a system of checks and balances and separation of powers between legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. They also both divide government power between upper and lower levels of government. In the U.S. Constitution the states are subordinate to the federal government, and in the Texas Constitution the counties are subordinate to the state government. But beyond these general features, the two constitutions could not be more different. These differences result from the fact that the two documents arose out of very different historical circumstances and for radically opposite complaints with the document each was meant to replace. With the U.S. Constitution, the problem with the earlier Articles of Confederation was that government was too decentralized and not powerful enough. The U.S. Constitution was designed to overcome these weaknesses and offer a degree of centralization and increased government power. However, this is exactly what the Texas Constitution was designed to reverse and avoid. The framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted to enable government action; …show more content…
In order to ratify, three-fourths of all state legislatures must ratify or three-fourths must approve via Ratifying Conventions. Initiative and referendum are powers granted to the electorate by the constitution of several states and refer to the processes that allow voters to vote directly on certain legislation. They represent direct check on democracy as people can exercise their powers to accept or reject a piece of legislation. Texas does not provide for this, however, states such Arizona has initiated statues and amendments and New Mexico has referendum only. The current Texas Constitution is ridiculed by scholars as being a burden by excessive detail, outdated and contradictory provisions as well as too hard to amend and it is too unclear in outlining the separation of powers which exists in Texas. The Constitutional Convention of 1974 failed because no one could agree. In an election held in 1975, all of these propositions were rejected by overwhelming
Valerie Jimenez Professor Gilligan Government – 2306 25 September 2017 Texas and U.S Constitution There is no doubt that the Texas and United States Constitutions are important to keep democracy. Both constitutions contain similarities as well as some major differences. The first similarity would be the process of separation of powers. Separation of Powers was created by the “framers of the Constitution [who] feared too much centralized power” (PBS) and who knew that “the accumulation of all powers… in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many…may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny” (PBS).
When thinking about the Constitution, people typically think of the national United States constitution that was ratified in 1787 and it is easy to overlook the fact that each state also possesses its own constitution When analyzing the U.S. The Constitution and the Constitution of Georgia, it is apparent that there are many similarities. The first similarity between the documents is the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is composed of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, originally proposed by James Madison in 1789. The Bill of Rights can be found in Articles 3 through 12 of the U.S. Constitution where it lists the fundamental rights and freedoms that American citizens possess, as well as restricts the power of the
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, but there was a grapple for its ratification that went on until about two decades after the ratification. Members of Congress believed that the first government of the United States or the Articles of Confederation, needed to be adjusted while others did not want anything to change. After the Revolutionary War, the people did not want a strong central government, because it reminded them too much of what they were trying to escape from. Under the Articles, each state had their own laws, and the need for a new Constitution was desired by many. The Constitution of 1787 created huge debates, arguments and splits in the nation that lasted for several year after its ratification between people who
The Constitution united the states in a more structured and governed body, while allowing the states to have some individually, and protected all rights of people specified in the Bill of Rights. The main fear in the constitution was that the central governing power in federal government would create a tyrant, something the colonists feared from their experience as being part of the British empire. Because of this, the founding fathers divided all the powers in the federal government into branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch is in check with the others, and makes it extremely hard for the country to fall into
The state Bill of Rights is much larger than its federal counterpart, and has provisions unique to Texas. The Texas constitution defines the responsibilities of country governments, which serve as agents of the state. Greg Abbott is the current governor of Texas and Dan Patrick is the Lieutenant governor of Texas. Being new the Texas, I didn’t had much knowledge about Texas Government. To get familiar with Texas I took Government 2306-71008 classes.
The Texas Constitution is similar to the U.S. Constitution in many ways. One of the many ways is that both have a Bill of Rights, and the Texas constitution embodies certain ideas from the U.S. Bill of Rights, which are that all free men are declared to have free and equal rights that cannot be taken away because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. Another way they are related is because they both have a constitutional law for the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial department. The U.S. Constitution has two virtues; brevity and flexibility. The Texas Constitution in the other hand, does not, the U.S. Constitution is limited to 7 short articles and 27 amendments.
The Missouri Constitution and the United States constitution cover the same ideas including bills, taxes, and powers. The constitutions have an option to change and or add to them. The constitutions also contain a rule stating a certain amount of votes are needed to change
The framers of the Texas Executive established a system that was designed to check the powers of the government. As opposed to the US Constitution that vested the power of the executive in the president of the nation (Berry, 1385), the Texas Constitution sought to ensure that the state did not have the excess powers. As such, they came up with a plural system where a variety of individuals make up the executive branch of the state (Texas State Government at a Glance). While the governor of the state remains as the highest ranking officials in the state, they hold the least of powers in the plural system.
To show that there are similarities and differences you have to give examples. It became obvious that both sets of constitutions had it in their seams to protect the government and keep the people at peace. Yet a subtle
The most important difference between these documents was that the Articles of Confederation gave very little power to a central government and the Constitution created a strong central government. The Article of Confederation was written to unite states after the American Revolution. People had the fear of the government having too much power. This document established
All of the issues in the Articles of Confederation were resolved in the Constitution. For example, under the Articles of Confederation, Congress had zero power to tax, regulate trade between the states or enforce laws. This problem was fixed in the Constitution because it had the U. S ruled by a strong central government that could tax, regulate trade and enforce laws. The Articles of Confederation also had many weaknesses like having no national army or currency. This was fixed by the Constitution because now, there is a national army and a national currency (dollars).
The particular condition that the Constitution of 1876 was drafted under was the government and overthrow of Edmund Davis (Harpham, Champagne 81). Some of the main principles behind the Constitution were popular control of state government, limitations on state government, strengthening the economy, and finally promotion of agrarian interests. Some of the more important aspects reflecting the political philosophy of the framers were the high value placed on individual freedom from government. As well as the lack of faith the framers had in the government. Under the Reconstruction Constitution of 1869, Edmund Davis governed.
We all know that American is the gradated country in the would and we also agree that there were numerous contrasts between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. However, the Articles of confederation were affirmed by congress on 1777, but their formal adoption was not achieved until 1781. It was an unassuming endeavor by another nation to unite itself and structure a national government. The Articles set up a Confederation that gave the majority of the ability to the states. Numerous issues emerged thus another Constitution was composed in 1787 in independence Hall.
The Oklahoma Constitution and the United States Constitution have a variety of similarities and differences, thus creating an array of topics of discussion. The very structure of the state 's constitution holds close similarities to the U.S. Constitution, given the fact that it was ratified over a century later. At the time of the making of the Oklahoma Constitution, there were arguments between the left and right areas of the state. These arguments were based on the fact that the people involved in the making of the state 's constitution wanted to have the area that was labeled "Indian territory" and make it a secure part of the state of Oklahoma. After doing so, the two areas merged and created the document that the state still uses to this day.
A constitution is the fundamental law by which a nation or a state is governed and organized. It establishes the framework of government, delegates the powers and duties of governmental bodies, and defines the relationship between the government and their citizens. Texas current constitution was adopted in 1876, and since then Texas voters have approved more than 467 amendments to this document. The word “amendment” is defined as the act or process of changing the words or the meaning of a law or document (constitution). Throughout this essay I will explain the rules for amending the Texas Constitution, the attempts made at constitutional reforms during the 1970s, explain why constitutional reforms were attempted and why it ultimately failed.