The Texas constitution is very similar to that of the original document of 1876. Newer amendments were created overtime to further the Texas Constitution to a modern form of governing since the first signing and implementation of these original rules. The old draft is said to have had “incorporated protection for various private interests” (Newell 2013). The original draft was “poorly organized”, and difficult to read, much less interpret, even by the courts” (Newell 2013). The final document being outdated influenced critical structure and powers of the government to create the revision. The controlling factions makes the differences between the Texas Constitution and the United States Constitution. They reserve powers to the state in the U.S constitution, however the
National document has shown to be more flexible. The governor’s role is weak when compared to that of the presidency. The Texas court system is a far more complex system and is considered to be confusing, yet the national is fairly simple in relation. The U.S Constitution is rarely amended, but the Texas Constitution is amended frequently.
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In both of the Constitutions they do outline the use of the government powers. One of the similarities is the way they are used to go about amending the Constitution. These are relativities of the Constitution and the molds of earlier drafts. They are continuously restructuring, reformatting and amending as needed. The Texas Constitution helped build what is called the Texas “current” Constitution. In the Legislative Branch, Texas constitution reinforces the constitutional amendment, which forces the state to follow procedure. This is not mandatory nor does it happen all the time, but rarely. In the Executive Branch, the United States Constitution calls for the President and Vice President. Lastly, the role Texas constitution is involved in the Judicial Branch. There are no levels to which judgment can be rendered due to overlapping jurisdiction. Qualifications for a Texas judge require no legal
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
The U.S Constitution also contains articles the Texas Constitution doesn't. The U.S. constitution talks about what privileges the states have. The rules they have to abide by to make the nation one. In the Texas Constitution it goes more into depth about what the state wants the people to abide by. The U.S. Constitution also talks about how our
The U.S. constitution and the Texas constitution have similarities and differences. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a summary of the rights given to all people. These constitutions also talk about suffrage and taxes. Just like how both of these constitutions have similarities, they also have differences. The Texas constitution is longer than the U.S. constitution and discusses the rights first. It also deals with state and local issues not brought up in the U.S. constitution. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights, but the Texas constitution discusses citizens’ rights at the beginning of article one. The Texas Bill of Rights has the same protections for citizens like the U.S. Bill of Rights does, but the Texas Bill of Rights extends beyond federal protections. The executive branch is the branch that the president is in charge of. The definition of the executive branch is “The branch of federal and state government that is broadly
The U.S. Constitution and Texas Constitution have numerous differences. As mentioned in our textbook, key differences between the two constitutions include how frequently they are amended, the difficulty of the court system, flexibility with allowing the government to act, and the strength of office. The U.S constitution is rarely amended, with a relatively simple court system. It is also more flexible with allowing the government to act, while maintaining presidency as a strong office. While, the Texas constitution is amended frequently, with a complex and confusing court system and weak governorship office.
Texas and California are two states in the US that are comparable in terms of their population, resources, size, economy and constitution. The Texas Constitution is the foundation of the statehood of Texas within which the government operates in the same way that U.S. constitution governs the affairs of the whole country with its allocated power. The Texas constitution has a huge influence on the daily lives of Texans Possibly even more than the U.S. Constitution. Although all states have its own constitution, Texas and California have different ways in which they gained their constitution. Like most state in the U.S. The state of California gained its constitution after the civil war, the constitution was ratified in 1879 and It is similar to the Texas constitution in many ways. Both constitutions are founded on the unanimous vote of its people and are grounded by the rule of
The Texas Constitution (1876) as well as the United States Constitution (1791) have a plethora of similarities conceptually, as they are both rooted with the same ideologies of democracy. However, what sets these two documents apart is that the Texas constitution goes into more depth on laws and how its government works. In contrast, the US Constitution is more vague allowing it to be a far more timeless and living document. This paper will be comparing and contrasting these four provisions from the U.S and Texas Constitutions: The Bill of Rights, amending the constitution, the legislative branch, and the executive branch.
The 1876 Constitution was enacted to replace the widely unpopular 1869 Constitution. Under this document the powers of governors and legislature are curtailed; economy, as well as efficiency are valued; judges must be elected; government power is regulated; and future regulation of railroads is enacted (62). The U.S. Constitution, which is limited to 7 articles and 27 amendments, leaves much unsaid; while the Texas Constitution, as of 2016, contains 16 articles and 491 approved amendments (63). In the Texas Constitution, limited government is profoundly practiced, which is extremely beneficial; as the document was written to prevent the expansion of governmental authority. In agreement, the Texas Constitution meets the standards of many political
In the United States Constitution the states are dependent on the federal government; however, in the Texas Constitution the counties are inferior to the state government. Both constitutions contain the principles needed for a representative democratic government. For instance, the U.S. Constitution was made to replace the Articles of Confederation, a weak decentralized form of national government with no president and inability to levy taxes. The U.S. Constitution was made to
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.
The constitution mandates the legislators to hold biennial sessions; however, the governor also has the constitutional power to call for special or emergency sessions. Accordingly, the constitution empowers the legislators to amend the constitution, set policies, and also manage all state run institutional affairs. As mentioned in the first question, the constitution empowers the legislators to conduction processes such as legislative oversight and constituent functions, which are necessary whenever it comes to the implementation of government policies and programs. In a nutshell, the constitution of Texas simply provides a means for the legislators to follow the law especially when it comes to performing critical functions of the
The Texas Constitution has evolved in many ways throughout history. Before the current constitution there were five predecessors. There were many factors that effected each of the five constitutions. After very long governance by Spain and Mexico and a small war with Mexico, the Texans finally won their independence. The first constitution had become official in September of 1836. This first constitution was called the Republic Of Texas Constitution. After struggling for about nine years to become apart of the Union, Texas’s second constitution was created. The Second constitution was called the Statehood Constitution and was thought to be one of the best constitutions of time. The Jacksonian Democracy greatly influenced the Statehood Constitution. The idea of the Jacksonian Democracy was to increase the people’s participation in the government. This Constitution lasted about 16 years until Texas joined the Confederate Sates of America in 1861. This third constitution was called the Civil War Constitution. The main goal was to modify the
There has been seven Texas Constitutions since 1827 including our current Constitution, which was established on 1876. Our current constitution has been amended hundreds of times because of its tight restrictions. The Legislative department is the dominant branch of the Texas Constitution it is subject to check and balances in the tripartite system. The Executive department limits the government’s power, and the judicial powers is divided into smaller courts. These three branches of the Texas are examples of how restricted and limited our constitution is.
Texas is a prime example of the state constitutions in general. Ever since the integration
In 1836, the new Texas Constitution was written during the war for independence which had a separation of governmental powers, a bill of rights, a bicameral legislature. This had many adopted aspects from the Spanish and Mexican laws. In 1845, was modeled after other southern states and therefore referred to as the Statehood Constitution (Newell, 44). It embraced democratic principles and was influenced by Jacksonian democracy. In 1861, the Constitution was modified when Texas joined the Confederate States of America, this was called The Civil War Constitution. This is when Texas seceded to join the confederacy. In 1866, was on the losing side of the war and Texas was ordered by Andrew Jackson to revise the document. This new document abolished slavery and declared secession illegal. In 1869, reconstruction of the Constitution happened yet again because radical reconstructionists in Washington wanted southern states to write new constitutions with tougher standards. The present constitution the document was careful about what government could do and couldn’t do. This document has changed a bit and has had over 467 revisions but it is still the document that is used present day.
The first constitution of Texas adopted on March 1, 1836 opens with these words, “We, the people of Texas, in order to form a Government, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense and general welfare; and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves, and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution”. (“Constitution of Republic of Texas” pp. 9-25.) Created in 1836, the first Constitution of the Republic of Texas was born. Fearful of attack by Mexican troops, fifty nine delegates, borrowing from other State Constitutions and the United States Constitution, met at the Washington-on-the-Brazos to write the first Constitution for Texas as an independent unitary body of Government. (Haag