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The Texas Constitution

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1. The Texas Constitution signaled the return of democratic control of the government and, along with that control, a weak governor and a decentralized state government. 2. That philosophy is still the governing principle of the Texas Constitution, although it is debatable whether such a principle is appropriate in the diverse, urban state that Texas has become. 3. Texas is unusual in that its constitution is so lengthy and detailed that much policymaking must occur through the process of constitutional amendment rather than simply by lawmaking. If Texas were to have an income tax or to change its system for selecting judges, those changes would not come from statutes enacted by the legislature, but would have to be constitutional amendments …show more content…

Texas constitution of presidential reconstruction feature changes by gaining control of the U.S. Congress. They insisted on more punitive measures and on removing the former Confederate leaders from state governmental positions. 13. The military governor of Texas, General Philip Sheridan, appointed E. M. Pease as provisional governor, and he called for the convening of a constitutional convention in Austin on April 1, 1868. Ninety delegates, ten of whom was African-American, and many of whom were carpetbaggers. They drafted a constitution that, according to two scholars, included provisions that present-day reformers would like to see in today’s document. These provisions included annual legislative sessions, the power for the governor to appoint other state officials, and greater power at the state level. 14. The type of legislature did Texas have while Edmund Davis was governor was the Texas legislature, which included two African-Americans in the Senate and nine in the House. The legislature enacted two bills dealing with lawlessness: a state police and state militia were created, both under the control of the …show more content…

The convention assembled in Austin on the first Monday in September. Six were Democrats and fourteen were Republicans. The average age of the delegates was forty-five and seventy-two of the men were immigrants from other Southern states; nineteen were from Tennessee. Some historians say that five African-Americans served as Republican delegates. About one-third of the delegates had served in the Texas legislature; two had served in other states’ legislatures, three had national legislative experience and two delegates had served in the Congress of the Confederate States of America. 19. Many of the delegates were members of the Texas Grange, a second goal of the convention was to further the interests of the agrarian population. 20. The powers granted to the legislative branch along with their limitations were spelled out in great detail: being a member of the Texas legislature was not to be a highly sought-after profession. The executive branch provided for 7 officials, 6 of whom were to be elected by the people of the state, thus were independent of the governor. The governor was given the responsibility to execute the laws, but not the power to do so. 21. Responsibility for the education became decentralized because local control of education was a way for white landowners to avoid paying for the education of African- American

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The state government under the Constitution of 1869 and the administration of Governor Edmund Davis set the stage for the adoption of the current Texas constitution. Governor during the Texas Reconstruction time period was Edmund Davis who was a Republican. The government power expanded under the Constitution of 1869 when a new constitution had to be written in accordance with the Reconstruction Acts. This led to less independence for local governments and constrained the peoples say in the government. Edmund Davis was the Republican governor of Texas elected in 1869 and held office until 1873.

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These authorities that the national government should have, were all up to the states to decide under the Articles. With the taking away some of the states rights in the Constitution, Anti-federalists feared that this would leave the states too weak, resulting in more problems. Under the new Constitution, many powers that were now in the government 's hands are: the power to levy and collect taxes, the power to regulate interstate commerce, the government set up a national court system consisting of district, circuit, and a supreme court, the government could enforce laws, there was now a house based on population, and a senate based on equal representation (two votes per state), to amend the Constitution, a ⅔ vote of Congress was needed, and a ¾ vote of the states were needed, and a majority rule was needed to pass bills. These new powers and abilities of the national government helped to create a strong, new

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636 Words | 3 Pages

“The Wade-Davis bill required 50 percent instead of 10 percent of the voters to swear an oath of allegiance, specified that a constitutional convention must take place before election of state officers, and restricted the right to vote for convention delegates to men who could take the ironclad oath that they never voluntarily supported the rebellion” (McPherson 712). The Presidents policy did not require a convention “whenever the number of persons in any state taking the oath reached 10 percent of the number of voters in 1860, this loyal nucleus could form a state government which would be recognized by the President” (McPherson

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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.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

The Constitution of 1876 was toward the end in the development of a new, restructured and revised constitution in Texas, yet it was not the last attempt to revise the natural law of Texas. Pressure begin to build to change and streamline the Texas Constitution in the late 1960s. By 1969, fifty-six obsolete and out dated provisions were revoked, including a whole article. This called for a more fundamental overhaul and restructuring of the Constitution, which led to an extensive and prolonged process of constitutional revision that began in the 1970s. Efforts during this time were imperative for two reasons: it explained a long-standing concern whether the legislature had the constitutional right to convene as a constitutional convention; and secondly, the Texas Constitutional Revision Commission provided a thorough revision of the state constitution that served as the foundation for a new

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Kari Davisson GOVT 2306-86021 Professor Summerlin 21 Sept. 2015 Texans’ Circle of Political Distrust Political and economic corruption in E.J. Davis’ Texas government before the Constitutional Convention of 1875 caused distrust of government by Texans. Texans especially do not trust government officials with their tax dollars, which has resulted in low taxes, low spending, and high federal aid. Without money to spend directly, Texas government officials have created numerous unfunded mandates, which still result in poor social programs and services.

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Maintaining the Texas Constitution of 1876 We as must never forget that the future of Texas is centered not on the strength of government, but on the hopes and the dreams of the people. The power of the Texan ideal it thhe reality og that any child from any cerci=omstance can grow up and can succeed, all Texans have the same birth right to achieve your own goals if your willing to work hard, follow the rules, and dream big. Texas believes in this. And I want to assure that the people and their children have the opportunity to live this way.

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317 Words | 2 Pages

Around the 1860’s, many Texans wanted Abraham Lincoln voted in as President. With the Civil War approaching, Sam Houston as the Texas Governor had two priorities and they were Texas and the Union. On January 28, 1861, There was a convention lead by many secessionists. Houston tried to stall the succession but instead the Legislature approved it. In early March, Texas was declared out of the Union and the group of secessionists agreed that the state should start uniting with the southern states which were recognized as the Confederate states.

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556 Words | 3 Pages

The Texas legislative process is governed by the Texas constitution as well as the House of Representative and the Senate. Its primary function is to enact laws to provide for the health, welfare, education, environment, and economic and general well-being of the citizens of Texas. It also establishes public policy through the passage of bills and resolutions and proposes amendments to the state constitution, which are then submitted to the voters for approval or disapproval. When a bill is proposed, it must go through the legislative process before it becomes a law. The legislative process is very long and has many steps.

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1025 Words | 5 Pages

The political culture of Texas can be described as being both Individualistic as well as Traditionalistic. In other words, Texas believes in the basic feature of individualistic values such as a strong belief in self-reliance, resistance to regulation, and a suspicion of public institutions. However,

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670 Words | 3 Pages

Texas Constitution V. Maine Constitution What is a constitution? According to Merriam Webster Dictionary a constitution is a document that describes the system of beliefs and laws by which a country, state or organization is governed. In numerous ways, the Texas and Maine constitution are similar documents.

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386 Words | 2 Pages

The U.S. Constitution and Federal Government affect Texas schools in several ways. First, under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article VII of the Texas Constitution Texas public schools must adhere to these rules, regulations, and procedures. After the civil rights movement, our rights and safety in the educational arena took effect. As a result, many provisions began implementation with the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. Many of the provisions took place within the First Amendment which pertains to our democratic society meaning to be free from governmental control regarding speech, publication, religious preference, and assembly.

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799 Words | 4 Pages

Texas Political Culture There are multiple classifications for political cultures Moralistic political culture- ones believe that the government should promote the public good and in order to ensure that good the citizens should participate in politics and civic activities Individualistic political culture- ones believe that the government must limit their role when providing to society in order to make the citizens able to pursue their economic interests Traditionalistic political culture- ones believe that the government should controlled by political elites and must be guided by tradition. Changes in Texas

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Although Texas government is democratic, the rich and educated make most of the decisions according to Texas politics, 6th Edition. Government-refers to the institutions in which decision are being made that resolve conflicts or allocate benefits and privileges. Institution refers to an ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society. Another report by the National Bureau of Census shows that Texas is in the top 10% of citizens below poverty line. With such wealth inequality in Texas, is no wonder minorities tend to be less involved.

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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.

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