POLS 2312 - Chapter 2
Excluding the preamble, how many articles are in the Texas Constitution?
17
During which year was the current Texas Constitution first drafted?
1876
Which of the following is true regarding the Confederate Constitution of 1861?
It asserted states' rights.
How did the 1875 Constitution change the legislature?
It gave legislators lower wages and less time in session to deliberate about legislation.
What does it mean that states typically have fairly decentralized governments?
Powers are often divided between multiple authorities, meaning that officials may have shared or overlapping responsibilities.
Which of the following features of state constitutions makes it often easier for policy advocates to try to shape national policy by first shaping state constitutions? Choose the BEST answer.
State constitutions are easier to amend.
What event caused the adoption of the Constitution of 1845?
Texas became the 28th state in the Union.
Which of the following is an accurate statement when comparing the bill of rights in the Texas Constitution to the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution?
Texas puts the bill of rights at the beginning of its constitution, while the U.S. Constitution includes the Bill of Rights as an addendum in the first ten amendments.
Which of the following events precipitated the Constitutional Convention of 1875?
The Democratic Party regained control of Texas government.
What was the outcome of the constitutional convention held between 1973 and 1974?
The convention recommended a document, but it failed to pass by three votes in the legislature.
The framers devoted considerable time and space to minute details of public policy. Why might they have done this? Choose the BEST answer.
The conventioneers were highly influenced by frontier populism and feared potential abuses of authority by holders of public office.
Article IX of the constitution grants the legislature the power to create counties but also places considerable restrictions on its ability to do so. During the 19th century, what factors would a legislator be required to consider if he or she wished to establish a new county?
The county seat would need to be located near the geographic center of the county.
What was the ultimate effect of the constitution framers' choice to work at a fast pace and forego the use of a stenographer?
The current Texas Constitution is very difficult to understand.
The Constitution of 1845 granted the governor which of the following powers?
The governor could appoint the attorney general and the secretary of state.
The Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas instructed the legislature to promote education. Why was this policy directive particularly important?
The idea remained throughout the various constitutions of Texas and is included in the current constitution.
How much focus did the framers give to the legislative branch in the constitution?
The legislative branch occupies the first and longest of the three articles dealing with the branches of government.
What did Thomas Jefferson believe about the longevity of constitutions?
They should be rewritten each generation.
What is one reason to question our reverence of constitutions?
Those who wrote them were deeply influenced by their own historical and cultural contexts.
According to the constitution, how is the judiciary chosen?
by election
The constitution's framers chose to explicitly establish the separation of powers by dedicating an entire article to the concept. What is one way, in particular, that they ensured the separation of powers?
by prohibiting a single individual from exercising the powers of more than one branch
Which of the following was included among the educational public policies specified in the Radical Republican Constitution of 1869?
compulsory school attendance
What kind of courts did the constitution establish?
constitutional courts
Which of the following is likely to result in voters feeling overwhelmed and underinformed?
passing numerous proposed amendments during one election
What tool allows citizens to vote on a law in a popular election?
referendum
Which of the following was a requirement in order for Texas to qualify for readmission to the Union?
reject laws passed under the Confederacy
Article IV outlines how many executive offices?
six
What document was the result of Texas's secession from the United States?
the Confederate Constitution of 1861
What is amendment chaining?
the need to pass amendments in response to other amendments
What is the purpose of a constitution?
to create procedures for making laws
What was the purpose of making all but one of the offices in the executive branch elected positions?
to divide authority and disperse the executive branch's ability to actively govern
What was the goal of the Missouri Plan?
to establish a nonpartisan committee to recommend judicial appointees to the governor
Article VIII of the Texas Constitution establishes provisions for fiscal authority. What were the framers trying to achieve in this section?
to limit the legislature's ability to impose taxes
