 Constitution of 1876The Constitution of 1876 opens with a long Bill of Rights. Among its provisions are the following:
The legislative article defined the powers and limitations of the legislature in detail. The legislature was to be made up of two houses, a Senate with 32 members and a House of Representatives with no more than 150 members. Senators would serve for four years, representatives for two. Sessions would be held once every two years. The executive article provided for seven elected officers—governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, comptroller of public accounts, treasurer, commissioner of the land office, and attorney general. The governor could convene the legislature in special sessions, call out the militia to execute the laws, suppress insurrections, protect the frontier against hostile Indians, and veto laws and items in appropriations bills. His veto could be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses. The judicial article provided for a supreme court, a court of appeals, district courts, county courts, commissioners’ courts, and justices of the peace. All judges were elected by popular vote. The article on education ordered the legislature to make provisions for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools but then added provisions that made the directive impossible. It eliminated mandatory attendance, provided for segregated schools, and made no provision for local school taxes. To support a university for blacks, the constitution set aside one million acres of public land, with all sales and proceeds going to the Permanent University Fund. The constitution also provided for precinct voting and mandated a poll tax, but not as a prerequisite for voting. It provided for homestead grants of 160 acres to heads of families and 80 acres to single men eighteen years or older. The document was adequate for rural people engaged in survival farming, but not for the urban/industrial/commercial society that Texas was becoming. Few changes were made during the first half century of the constitution’s existence, but since then it has been changed at a steadily increasing rate. Changes are made through amendments submitted to the voters by consent of two-thirds of the members of each house of the legislature and approved by a majority of those voting. Source: Constitution of 1876
Hey, Texplainer: Why does the Texas Constitution have so many amendments? This November, another 10 constitutional amendments approved by the state Legislature will be put to a vote in a biennial referendum that’s become something of a tradition in Texas. The proposed amendments, which range from a measure allowing El Paso County to finance parks and recreational areas, to a measure facilitating partnerships between cities, counties or government agencies, will bring the total number of amendments considered by Texas voters to 656 since the current state Constitution was ratified on Feb. 15, 1876. Of those, 467 amendments have been approved — the fourth-highest number of amendments of any state, behind Alabama, California and South Carolina. Why has the Texas Constitution been changed so much? One answer is that amending the state's Constitution is relatively easy. Texas has a relatively low bar for amending its Constitution. Another reason that Texas’ Constitution has needed additions and alterations so often is that, perhaps paradoxically, it takes a highly restrictive view of the powers of state government. Both of these factors, which Texas has in common with many other states, differ markedly from the United States Constitution.The founding fathers wanted to make it a difficult process to amend the federal Constitution, and they succeeded. There are several different ways to change the U.S. Constitution, but it’s only ever been amended by a process that requires a two-thirds vote by both houses of Congress and the approval of three-fourths of the states. Unlike that Constitution, which has remained relatively brief with 27 amendments and has only been changed once since 1971, the Texas Constitution merely requires an amendment be passed by the state Legislature and approved by voters in a referendum.Another reason for the difference between the two constitutions lies in the different philosophical approaches the framers of the constitutions had about the role of government. The U.S. Constitution sets out the responsibilities and powers of government, and then grants Congress the “power - To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying” into being the powers granted in the rest of the document. This, the Necessary and Proper Clause, is the justification for a wide array of federal powers not specifically enumerated by the Constitution itself. There is no equivalent to that clause in the Texas Constitution. Instead, the powers granted to the Legislature and governor include only those specifically written in the state Constitution. So, even small legislative changes — like allowing El Paso County to finance its own parks with local taxes — can require a constitutional amendment and a referendum. A good example of the challenges posed by this type of restrictive constitution is Article X, one of the 17 articles in the Texas Constitution. The article dealt with the regulation of railroads — a hot-button issue in 1876. Article X has remained in the Constitution long after the federal government took over regulatory duties for transportation, and in 1969, all except one of the Article’s sections was repealed. The remaining section is likewise outdated, and has little force of law. Over the years, there have been many attempts to clean up the ever-growing document. A constitutional convention called by the Legislature in 1974 met for 150 days before ending in gridlock: The proposed constitution fell short by three votes, with 118 for and 62 against. When the Legislature tried to add parts of the proposed constitution to the current one a year later in the form of eight constitutional amendments, all were overwhelmingly rejected by voters. In 1999, state Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mt. Pleasant, and state Rep. Rob Junell, D-San Angelo, proposed a rewritten constitution which attempted to simplify the document and streamline state government. The bill died in committee, but the bill’s authors remained convinced of the need for reform. Voters, Ratliff said at the time, know “that any document that you have to amend 20 times every other year is broke. It's sort of a Texas tragedy, actually, that we can't seem to come to grips with the fact that we need a new basic document going into the next century and the next millennium.”At least Texas’ Constitution isn’t the most unwieldy: Alabama's Constitution, which has been amended 827 times, is more than 340,000 words long. That’s three times as long as the longest constitution of a soverign nation, India's. And California’s Constitution, which allows constitutional amendments to be introduced to the ballot by petition, has contributed significantly to the state’s budgetary woes and was the subject of a special report in The Economist earlier this year. Barring a constitutional convention, though, Texas voters should get used to watching more obscure amendments sail through the approval process, whether its 2003’s Proposition 21, which allowed “a current or retired faculty member of a public college or university to receive compensation for service on the governing body of a water district," or Proposition 5, from 2001, which permitted “cities to donate used firefighting equipment to foreign countries.” Bottom line: The way the Texas document is written makes it, perhaps paradoxically, both fairly easy to amend and highly restrictive in the powers it grants, making frequent and often highly specific changes necessary. Got a question for Texplainer? Email us at .
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here. 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[1] because of a lack of support in the United States for the Texas Revolution.[2] The declaration of independence was written by George Childress[3] and modeled after the United States Constitution. Lorenzo de Zavala helped in the drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas by personally designing its flag and serving as vice president. A copy of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas was included with the declaration of independence. The constitution borrowed language from the US Constitution and the constitutions of several southern states.[1] It formed a unitary republic, rather than the federal republic as defined in the US Constitution.[1] The President of the Republic of Texas had a three-year term and could not serve another consecutive term, which was based on provisions in the Mexican Constitution.[1] The Texas Constitution also protected the right to own slaves and prohibited "Indians" and "Africans" from living freely in the country or from becoming Texan citizens.[4] A constitutional convention began after the declaration of independence, and an interim government was put into place.[5] The convention adopted a document on March 16, 1836[1] and adjourned the next day.[3] Because of the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto on April 22, 1836, war with Mexico was over.[6] When June came around, the Republic of Texas had de facto independence as it was unrecognized by Mexico,[7] but Mexico was unable to bring the Republic to an end.[7] Interim President Burnet, on July 23, 1836 called for elections to ratify the constitution and to decide if Texas should pursue annexation into the United States. The elections were to occur on the first Monday of September.[8] After the elections, the constitution was ratified, Sam Houston was elected president, and Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar became his vice-president,[1] and the seeking annexation was decided.[8] StatehoodOn March 1, 1845, the United States enacted a congressional joint resolution to propose the annexation of Texas to the United States (Joint Resolution for annexing Texas to the United States, Joint Resolution 8, enacted March 1, 1845, 5 Stat. 797). On June 23, 1845, the Texan Congress accepted the US Congress joint resolution and consented to President Anson Jones's call for a convention to be held on July 4, 1845.[9][10] A Texas convention debated the annexation offer and almost unanimously passed an ordinance assenting to it on July 4, 1845.[11] The convention debated until August 28 and adopted the Constitution of the State of Texas on August 27.[10] The citizens of Texas approved an annexation ordinance and a new constitution on October 13.[citation needed] On December 29, 1845, the United States admitted the State of Texas to the Union (Joint Resolution for the admission of the state of Texas into the Union, Joint Resolution 1, enacted December 29, 1845, 9 Stat. 108). The Constitution of the Republic of Texas contains nine portions, six articles, a schedule, General Provisions, and a Declaration of Rights.[4] Article IArticle I established the three branches of government, legislative, executive, and judicial. It contained sections that defined in greater detail the legislative branch, which is defined as a Senate and House of Representatives, which are to be called The Congress of the Republic of Texas. Members of the House are to be chosen on the first Monday of September and to hold their office for one year until other provisions are made. To hold a seat in the House, they need to be at least twenty-five, a citizen of the republic, and residing in the county or district represented for six months prior to the election. The House is not to consist of less than twenty-four or more than forty members until the population reaches one hundred thousand, and then it shall not be less than forty or more than one hundred members.[4] Senators were chosen by their districts equal in free white population. The number of senators is to never be less than one third or more than one half of that of representatives. Each district is to have one member. Senators are chosen for three years on the first Monday of September. They must be citizens of the republic, reside in the district they represent for at least one year before the election, and be at least thirty. The vice President was to be the president of the senate but could not vote unless there was a tie.[4] Each house was the judge of elections, qualifications, and returns of its own members. Two thirds of each House was needed for a quorum, but a smaller number could still adjourn and call those who are not in attendance. Houses were able to determine their own rules for proceedings and punishment. Vacancies that happen in either house were to be filled by the president.[4] The President was required to sign passed bills and can send them back in which case a two-thirds majority of both Houses can enact the law.[4] Article IIArticle II defined the powers of Congress and gave it the ability to tax and to borrow money, and it required congress to provide for the general welfare of the republic. It was given the power to regulate commerce. Congress could declare war and must provide and maintain a navy.[4] Article IIIThe President was the chief magistrate of the Republic of Texas. The first elected president served two years and could not serve a succeeding term. Other presidents were elected for three years and also could not serve a succeeding term.[4] Article IVArticle IV established the judiciary and the Supreme Court and gave Congress the power to establish lower courts. There were to be no fewer than three and no more than eight judicial districts. After defining court structure, the article established counties and allowed new counties to be made.[4] Article VArticle V required members of Congress or anyone else who enters office to take an oath. It also forbids ministers of the Gospel from holding office, as it would distract them from their Godly duties.[4] Article VIArticle VI built on Article III and defined the role and power of the president, who was required to be at least thirty-five and a citizen and to have lived in the republic for at least three years before election or to have lived there at the time of independence. On the second Monday of December after the election, the president was to enter office and was to be the commander-in-chief of the army and the navy but did not command them personally without the authorization by Congress.[4] It also defined voting qualifications and procedures. Any male citizen who was twenty-one and had been in Texas for six months could vote. Elections were to all be by ballot unless congress determines otherwise.[4] ScheduleThe schedule deals with the formation of the interim government needed by a rule of the declaration of independence.[4] General ProvisionsThis established the laws, duties, and rights that in the constitution. Convicted criminals could not hold office, vote, or be on juries. Congress was to establish and fund a system of education. Any white person who lives in the republic for at least six months can take an oath to become a citizen.[4] Slaves who were brought to Texas are to remain slaves of the one who brought them in. Their owner could not free them without the consent of Congress, which may not pass laws that either affect the slave trade or declare emancipation. [4] The head of a family was entitled to one league and labor of land. Every man at least seventeen was entitled to one third of a league of land. Amendments to the constitution, to be ratified, must be passed to by a majority of each house and then be put to a vote by the people.[4] Declaration of RightsThe Declaration of Rights establishes how people were to be treated by the government and what freedoms they were allowed. All free, white men were to have equal rights. Political power was established to be held by the people, no preference by law was to be given to any religion; freedom of religion was established. Citizens were allowed full liberty of speech, which could be harmed by no laws.[4]
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