The Texas Constitution

The Texas Constitution

Many events that followed the Civil War marked the end of one of the hardest times for the state of Texas. The Reconstruction era and the military occupation are examples of the events that helped end trying time for Texans. Soon a state constitution came about to help put some restraints on the government to protect against future problems. The Texas Constitution was adopted in 1876 and many changes have made throughout the years and amended.

There has been 7 constitutions in Texas from 1827-1876. In 1827 the Constitution of Coahulla y Tejas was adopted while Texas was still a part of Mexico. The first constitution provided for a unicameral congress of twelve deputies, including two from Texas, elected by the people. The second constitution which resulted in the freedom from Mexico was The Constitution of the Republic and it happened on March 16, 1836. Between the 1820's and early 1830's tension rose due to the increased immigration from the United States into Texas. The Anglo settlers and the Mexican government soon had problems with the cultures, legal traditions, and economic interest when the colonist rebelled. Mexico did adopt a new constitution providing for a unitary system with power centralized in the national congress and the presidency. When Texas was added to the Union, the new constitution of 1845 was put into place making it the 3rd constitution adopted. The 3rd constitution created an elected legislature that included a House of Representatives and Senate. Not long after the 3rd constitution was adopted, the Texans adopted the Civil War Constitution of 1861 , after the state seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Most of the changes made to the constitution were revolved around Texas's new membership in the Confederacy. These changes protected slavery and stopped the freeing of slaves. The two party system in Texas was destroyed by slavery and secession, and did not come back around until the 1980's. The shortest Constitution and known for the hard times, was in 1866 when Texas wanted to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War and Before the Radical Reconstructionists took control of the U.S. Congress. The sixth constitution was in 1869 which was the Reconstruction Constitution. The local governments were weaker than the state government , this showed the sentiments of Radical Reconstructionists, not of most Texans. The main goal of this constitution was to grant African Americans the right to vote and include other provisions acceptable to Congress. Finally mthe seventh constitution and the one that Texas currently uses, is the Texas Constitution of 1876. Adopted by the end of Reconstruction and has been amended 474 times since then. This constitution does place large limitations on the powers of the governor, the legislature, and other state officials.

General principles of the Texas constitution