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Strengths And Weaknesses Of Texas Constitution

Decent Essays

Texas has been through a lot of changes and constitutions. After constants debates of what the constitution should be, the current Texas constitution was established in 1876 and is the 7th constitution Texas has had. It created 3 branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The current constitution has great qualities, but it also contains a lot of weaknesses that shouldn’t be ignored for the sake of pride. First, the strengths need to be acknowledged; Texas has always been about their own freedom and their own individuality and the constitution reflects that. The constitution establishes rights such as “freedom of speech, press, and assembly” (Collier et al 62). This is great because it provides a sense of security for the …show more content…

It limits the power of the branches and their time in office. According to the book, Lone Star Politics, the delegates’ goal is to “limit the power of the governor” (Collier et al 65). That’s why the Texas Governor it’s considered weak against governors from other states. Also, the constitution created a part time-time citizen legislature (63). Their work only consists of 140 days. Basically, the constitution is a set of rules for the government so they don’t acquire too much power. In a state, where distrust of the Government has always been present, it makes sense that the constitution wants to restrict …show more content…

The constitution was created in the “era of cowboys and cattle drives” (Collier et al 66). This is not Texas currently. Texas is mostly urban now, and the population has been growing ever since, and that includes the population of Hispanic and African Americans. It has come to the point that Hispanics are almost surpassing the number of Whites in Texas. Texas has changed into a diverse state with the millions of persons. The economy of Texas it’s no longer based on farms and ranches, but on the industry, finance, shipping, energy, etc. (67). All this explains why the constitution it’s now outdated and doesn’t connect with current Texas. In conclusion, Texas constitution has both strengths and weakness, but it feels that the weakness outshines the strengths. The main problem is that it does not represent Texas anymore, so the rights given by the constitution and the limited government feel useless against this fact. Because if a constitution does not reflect the state it’s supposed to, everything else does not matter. Texas is a diverse state in constant change, and the constitution should be able to adapt to current

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