{"id":45,"date":"2016-11-09T16:09:18","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T16:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/odessa-texasgovernment\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=45"},"modified":"2017-03-30T15:11:46","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T15:11:46","slug":"the-constitutions-of-texas","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/chapter\/the-constitutions-of-texas\/","title":{"raw":"The Constitutions of Texas","rendered":"The Constitutions of Texas"},"content":{"raw":"<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\nBy the end of this section, you will be able to:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Discuss the constitutions of Texas<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe the current constitution of Texas<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Constitutions of Texas<\/h2>\r\nTexas has been governed by multiple constitutions.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The Mexican Constitution of 1824\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Texas was part of Mexico<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Called for an official religion (Catholicism)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Constitution of Coahuila and Texas, 1827\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>First state constitutions under Mexican rule<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Texas Constitution of 1836\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Texas gains their independence, becomes their own country (Republic of Texas)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Texas Constitution of 1845\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>US Annexation of Texas<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Texas is pre-approved to split up in to as much as 5 states<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Texas Constitution of 1861\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Texas secedes from the Union and joins the Confederate States of America<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Texas Constitution of 1866\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Adopted as a condition for readmission to the United States of America<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Texas Constitution of 1869\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>State constitution rewritten to abide by Reconstruction policies<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Created a powerful Texas Governor<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Texas Constitution of 1876\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>current state constitution<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Texas Constitution of 1876<\/h2>\r\nTexas Democrats gained control of Congress in 1873 and decided it was time to draft a new constitution for Texas. The Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875 met in Austin with the purpose of replacing the Constitution of 1869- it was believed that the new constitution should restrict the state government and hand the power back to the people. Some examples of how the government was restricted were[footnote]https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/exhibits\/forever\/representation\/page5.html[\/footnote]:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Legislative sessions moved from annual to biennial sessions<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Creation of a plural executive<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Mandated a balanced budget<\/li>\r\n \t<li>State Judges would be elected by the people<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The people would vote on the ratification of amendments<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe structure of the current constitution of Texas (Constitution of 1876) is a Preamble, 17 Articles, and 491 Amendments (Since 2015)[footnote]http:\/\/www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us\/[\/footnote]. The Texas Constitution does not contain a \"<strong>necessary and proper clause<\/strong>\" like the U.S. Constitution, therefore making it the second longest state constitution in America (2nd only to Alabama's).\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Article 1: Bill of Rights\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Similar civil liberties and civil rights as in the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 2: The Powers of the Government\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Establishes three branches of government with separation of powers<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 3: Legislative Department\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Specifics about the Texas Legislator<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 4: Executive Department\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Specifics about the plural executive<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 5: Judicial Department\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Specifics about the Texas Judicial system<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 6: Suffrage\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Forbids the following from voting:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>any non US citizen<\/li>\r\n \t<li>any non-registered Texas voter<\/li>\r\n \t<li>any convicted felon who has not completed their sentence<\/li>\r\n \t<li>any person deemed mentally incompetent by the courts<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 7: Education\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Mandates an \"efficient\" free public school system<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Established the Permanent School Fund<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 8: Taxation and Revenue\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Places limits on the raising and spending of public funds<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 9: Counties\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Authorizes the Texas Legislature to create county governments<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 10: Railroads\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Regulated the railroad system<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 11: Municipal Corporations\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Specifics regarding local governments, including empowering them to tax, and how to charter cities<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 12: Private Corporations\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Specifics regarding private businesses, including how they would be regulated<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 13: Spanish and Mexican Land Titles\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Specifics on what which land with previous claims would become state property<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 14: Public Lands and Land Office\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Established the Land Office which regulated land titles<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 15: Impeachment\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Specifics on how to remove a public official from office<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 16: General Provisions\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Miscellaneous regulations i.e. forbid Congress from printing money, forbid U.S. public officials from holding a state office<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Article 17: Mode of Amending the Constitution of this State\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>2\/3rds proposal from Congress<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Registered voters vote on approval, and with a majority vote the amendment is ratified<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe entire Texas Constitution can be accessed at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us\/\">http:\/\/www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us\/\u00a0<\/a>","rendered":"<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<p>By the end of this section, you will be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Discuss the constitutions of Texas<\/li>\n<li>Describe the current constitution of Texas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Constitutions of Texas<\/h2>\n<p>Texas has been governed by multiple constitutions.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Mexican Constitution of 1824\n<ul>\n<li>Texas was part of Mexico<\/li>\n<li>Called for an official religion (Catholicism)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Constitution of Coahuila and Texas, 1827\n<ul>\n<li>First state constitutions under Mexican rule<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Texas Constitution of 1836\n<ul>\n<li>Texas gains their independence, becomes their own country (Republic of Texas)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Texas Constitution of 1845\n<ul>\n<li>US Annexation of Texas<\/li>\n<li>Texas is pre-approved to split up in to as much as 5 states<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Texas Constitution of 1861\n<ul>\n<li>Texas secedes from the Union and joins the Confederate States of America<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Texas Constitution of 1866\n<ul>\n<li>Adopted as a condition for readmission to the United States of America<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Texas Constitution of 1869\n<ul>\n<li>State constitution rewritten to abide by Reconstruction policies<\/li>\n<li>Created a powerful Texas Governor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Texas Constitution of 1876\n<ul>\n<li>current state constitution<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Texas Constitution of 1876<\/h2>\n<p>Texas Democrats gained control of Congress in 1873 and decided it was time to draft a new constitution for Texas. The Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875 met in Austin with the purpose of replacing the Constitution of 1869- it was believed that the new constitution should restrict the state government and hand the power back to the people. Some examples of how the government was restricted were<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/exhibits\/forever\/representation\/page5.html\" id=\"return-footnote-45-1\" href=\"#footnote-45-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Legislative sessions moved from annual to biennial sessions<\/li>\n<li>Creation of a plural executive<\/li>\n<li>Mandated a balanced budget<\/li>\n<li>State Judges would be elected by the people<\/li>\n<li>The people would vote on the ratification of amendments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The structure of the current constitution of Texas (Constitution of 1876) is a Preamble, 17 Articles, and 491 Amendments (Since 2015)<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"http:\/\/www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us\/\" id=\"return-footnote-45-2\" href=\"#footnote-45-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a>. The Texas Constitution does not contain a &#8220;<strong>necessary and proper clause<\/strong>&#8221; like the U.S. Constitution, therefore making it the second longest state constitution in America (2nd only to Alabama&#8217;s).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Article 1: Bill of Rights\n<ul>\n<li>Similar civil liberties and civil rights as in the U.S. Constitution&#8217;s Bill of Rights<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 2: The Powers of the Government\n<ul>\n<li>Establishes three branches of government with separation of powers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 3: Legislative Department\n<ul>\n<li>Specifics about the Texas Legislator<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 4: Executive Department\n<ul>\n<li>Specifics about the plural executive<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 5: Judicial Department\n<ul>\n<li>Specifics about the Texas Judicial system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 6: Suffrage\n<ul>\n<li>Forbids the following from voting:\n<ul>\n<li>any non US citizen<\/li>\n<li>any non-registered Texas voter<\/li>\n<li>any convicted felon who has not completed their sentence<\/li>\n<li>any person deemed mentally incompetent by the courts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 7: Education\n<ul>\n<li>Mandates an &#8220;efficient&#8221; free public school system<\/li>\n<li>Established the Permanent School Fund<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 8: Taxation and Revenue\n<ul>\n<li>Places limits on the raising and spending of public funds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 9: Counties\n<ul>\n<li>Authorizes the Texas Legislature to create county governments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 10: Railroads\n<ul>\n<li>Regulated the railroad system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 11: Municipal Corporations\n<ul>\n<li>Specifics regarding local governments, including empowering them to tax, and how to charter cities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 12: Private Corporations\n<ul>\n<li>Specifics regarding private businesses, including how they would be regulated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 13: Spanish and Mexican Land Titles\n<ul>\n<li>Specifics on what which land with previous claims would become state property<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 14: Public Lands and Land Office\n<ul>\n<li>Established the Land Office which regulated land titles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 15: Impeachment\n<ul>\n<li>Specifics on how to remove a public official from office<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 16: General Provisions\n<ul>\n<li>Miscellaneous regulations i.e. forbid Congress from printing money, forbid U.S. public officials from holding a state office<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 17: Mode of Amending the Constitution of this State\n<ul>\n<li>2\/3rds proposal from Congress<\/li>\n<li>Registered voters vote on approval, and with a majority vote the amendment is ratified<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The entire Texas Constitution can be accessed at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us\/\">http:\/\/www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-45\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Constitutions of Texas. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Daniel M. Regalado. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/pdm\">Public Domain: No Known Copyright<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-45-1\">https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/exhibits\/forever\/representation\/page5.html <a href=\"#return-footnote-45-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-45-2\">http:\/\/www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us\/ <a href=\"#return-footnote-45-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":5721,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Constitutions of Texas\",\"author\":\"Daniel M. Regalado\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"pd\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-45","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":20,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5721"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45\/revisions\/294"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/20"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/sanjacinto-texasgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}