Chapter 2: The Texas Constitution

What is in Article I of the TX constitution?

The bill of rights - protection of freedom of religion and speech -ERA (sex,race, color, creed or national origin) -Protects habeas corpus - Additional rights to property owners (cant be taken for private land to generate taxes)

Who is the only non-elected TX state official?

The secretary of state (is appointed by governor)

When did texas become a state of the US? Was this a problem?

The state first applied for statehood in the 1830s but was denied because of the missouri compromise. Texas was granted statehood by Polk on December 29,1845

Define Constituiton

a document that establishes the fundamental laws and rules by which a state or nation is organized and governed

Define a plural executive system

a system in which the power of the executive official is limited by distributing the executive power among various independent elected officials

10th amendment

all powers not specifically delegated to the national government in the US constitution are reserved for the states

Most constitutions have very strong statements on

civil liberties that secure basic freedoms

The distrust of the government by Texas when writing the TX constitution led them to

create a cheap and fragmented executive and legislative brance

Constitutions structure the government by

dividing and assigning power and placing limitations on government's power - necessary to expressly limit the power to prevent the government from doing things that are not specifically prohibited in the constitution

What was the slogan adopted by the 1875 constitutional convention?

"Retrenchment and Reform"

McCullooch v. Maryland

- 1819 - maryland taxing a branch of the federal government -ruling made clause the "Elastic" clause

Texas state constitution of 1845

- Annexed as the 28th state of the union -ceded defense related property to the us - state retained vacant land -two legislative houses -elected governor and Lt. governor - a process for amending the constitution -reflected traditionalistic culture -women granted property rights equal of that of men -2 year terms for almost everybody -limited executive authority

Three primary areas states were required to provide protection for citizens

- Civil liberties (freedom of religion and speech, no segregation or prayer allowed in schools) - Criminal proceedings (right to counsel and protection from self-incrimination) - Election laws (overturned restrictive voter registration laws, must apportion legislative districts by population)

Mexican constitution of 1824

- Coahuila y Tejas - combined coahuila and Texas as a state - National religion and church established -unicameral -governor had 1 year terms -slavery not allowed -Raised taxes -first constitution to govern texas Anglos - short lived document, taxation with out representation and slavery issues -federalist in concept

Article IV of the US constitution

- Full faith and credit clause - forces relationships between states - states must respect other states laws - outlines states duties to one anbother

Memebers of the plural executive system

- Governor - Lt. Governor -comptroller - attorney general - commissioner of land office -agricultural commissioner - railroad commissioner -state board of education -secretary of state

What is in Article V of the TX constitution?

- Judicial department -structurally distinct from fed government - two high courts, texas supreme court and the court of criminal appeals - legislature can create more courts - dictates judge requirements (Licensed to practice, US citizen, 35+ lawyer for 10 years) - Judges are elected.

What is in Article III of the TX constitution?

- Legislative department -divides into two branches -provides election system, terms in office, member requirements - rules of procedure dictated - compensation for legislators dictated - outlines the Texas ethics commission

How can amendments be proposed

- Legislature proposes changes (need majority vote in both houses) - constitutional conventions used for general revision, not specific amendments some states allow voter initiative (TX doesnt)

Name the three systems of government

- Unitary -Federal -Confederal

Federal system of government

- a sharing of responsibility and power the state and national governments - the US is this -Division of power - compromise

Most State constitutions

- are very lengthy and detailed (8000-86000 words) - have many more amendments that the national constitution - require frequent alteration -create weak executives and strong legislatures -contain articles on taxation and finances that limit how funds can be spent -prohibit deficit expenditures

What did E.J. Davis do when he was governor

- attempted to integrate education -integrated the police force -concentrated all power into his office -jailed opposition - denies confederates right to vote -removes limits from his authority -super corrupt -raises taxes

Ideal characteristics of a constitution

- brief and explicit - embody only the general principles of government - provide broad outlines of government to allow for interpretation - not too detailed or specific - broad and flexible - broad grants of power - hold governments accountable for their action - amendments should be infrequent, deliberate and significant

Congress lacks the power to provide many basic services to citizens. How does the national government get arround this to influence and ensure states enforce nationwide laws?

- by providing money to state and local governments that has strings attached. -categorical grants and block grants - funding is only given to the states if they follow the laws the national government wants - promotes uniformity and improved standards across the US -seen as burdensome, inflexible, unnecessary and an imposition on state powers, but is followed because states would receive a lot less funding

Powers shared between the national and state governments (7)

- collecting taxes and spending it on general welfare -Make and enforce laws -Military/ militia -establish and maintain courts -borrow money privilege and immunities - elections/voting -infrastructure and commerce

Fear of concentration of power in a single person lead the framers of the US constitution to

- divide power broadly between three branches of government - provide systems for checks and balances

Compared to the national constitution, state constitutions

- have many more amendments -are more restrictive - longer - more specific to state needs

The piecemeal process of proposing amendments to the constitution every 2 years will continue because

- lack of support for reform for significant political forces in the state - no political leadership -political culture of the state does not support broad change -strong opposition from powerful lobby groups - lack of general interest and support for change among citizens

Confederal system of government

- most power rests with the regional and local governments - bottom -up - each state acts independently of each other and the national government - national government has limited powers - European union, united nations, articles of confederation

What are the two steps in amending the constitution

- proposing the change - citizen approval

Patterns of constitutional amendments

- state constitutions are amended more often that the national one because states deal with a wider range of functions -amendments proposed by initiative have half of the success rate of those proposed by the legislature - most amendments face little opposition - interest groups attempt to have their interests protected in the constitution - need 2/3 vote

The Unitary system of government

- top- down government - most nations have this -regional and local governments cannot act independently and can only operate within the powers granted to them by the national government - state constitutions are like this - works well for homogenous populations

Constitution of 1876

- written by a constitutional convention composed of mostly Grangers -limited powers spelled out in the state constitution -provided for a weak governor and legislature, both of which became fragmented - created debt ceilings -reestablished state wide and local elected officials -reflected traditionalistic, ant-government sentiments - this is the one we use now

creative federalism/ new federalism

-1960 -gives state government more discretion in program administration and revenue-sharing -give states mre power in spending grant money -reduced amount of money available to states -return of shared power and responsibility

Important Sections o the TX Constitution

-Article I: Bill of rights -Article II: The powers of the government (separation and checks and balances) -Article III: Legislative Department -Article IV: Executive Department -Article V: Judicial Department -Article VI: Suffrage -Article VII: Education Article IX and XVI: Creation and structure of counties - Article XVII: Means for amending the tx constitution

Powers specifically designated to the state governments by the constitution (18)

-Conduct local, state and national elections - establish republican forms of government -administer family laws - establish criminal laws -provide education -tax estates and inheritance -protect public health and safety -regulate occupations and professions - regulate intrastate commerce -protect property rights -regulate banks and credit - establish insurance laws -regulate charities -conduct public works -regulate land use -registration and voting rights -capital punishment - environment

Republic of Texas constitution of 1836

-Created three separate branches -had a 4 tier court system (Justice, county, district, state supreme court) -made president Sam Houston and can only have one 3 year term -composite of us constitution and southern state constitutions -abilities to make treaties and a national military - governor has 2 year terms -ministers cannot hold office -slavery allowed -protection of property rights -unitary -clear signs f government distrust

The evolution of American federalism

-Dual federalism -Cooperative Federalism - Creative federalism -Devolution of Power - Coercive Federalism (categorical grants)

Who made up the Grangers (The patrons of husbandry party?

-Farmers -businessmen - Conservative -Anglo -Males

Criticisms of the TX constitution

-Length - wording/ difficult language -unclear organization makes it hard to discover where items are located -excessive detail, no room for interpretation of discretion -inflexibility -constant change from stream of new amendments -redundancy -ill fitting to today's modern society

What did the Grangers want?

-Low taxes -Small government Reduce governor powers, salary and shorten the term to 2 years -tied legislatures hands with biennial session, low salaries and limited powers -judges elected by popular vote -trim public services to the bone -limited public debt -inserted specific policy provisions (like to resegregate schools)

Article I section VIII of the US constitution

-Necessary and proper clause -fights with the 10th amendment

Texas constitution of 1866

-Ratified by slim majority following defeat after civil war, was a punishment for participation in the civil war -abolition of slavery -Freedmen could own property but couldn't vote or run for office -salaries of office holders increased -Raised taxes -renounced right for future secession -Overturned by the reconstruction acts

Common Characteristics of state constitutions

-Separation of powers -Bill of rights -Supreme law of the land -

Article VI of the US constitution

-Supremacy clause

Secession constitution of 1861

-Texas and 10 other states secede -Officials must take oath to the confederacy -prohibition against freeing slaves -provisions to secede union stayed very similar to constitution of 1845

Supremacy Clause

-The US constitution > state constitution. -No federal or state statue can violate the US constitution - Fed > State > Local

Reconstruction constitution of 1869

-approved under supervision of federal military rule -carpetbaggers constitution -reflected centralization aspirations of republicans - 4 year terms for governor -county courts abolished local authority and control removed from plantar class -centralization of public schools under state control funded by poll tax and sale of public lands -AA can vote -disenfranchised whites - Texas v White

Cooperative federalism

-great depression -national government began to supply more money to states and local governments to provide services to citizens - national and state governments cooperated to provide services

Dual federalism

-national government had primary delegated powers by constitutions -state provided most basic services to citizens -little financial assistance from national to state government

Why is voter turnout often low for amendment proposals

-odd timing when no elections are held - turnout rates can be skewed by election schedules in counties with large cities - ballot wording contributes to confusion and misinformation -the subject matter is not of interest to the voters - voter ignorance on the issues

Fundamental principles of constitutional government

-popular sovereignty - social contract theory - constitutions structure governemtn

Powers specifically designated to the US national government by the constitution (19)

-punish offenses against laws of the nation -lay and collect taxes for the common defense and general welfare - coin and regulate money -establish courts inferior to the USSC -raise and support armies -administer the capitol district and military bases -Declare war -organize, arm and discipline state militias when called to suppress insurrections and invasions -provide for copyrights for authors and inventors -regulate interstate and foreign commerce -regulate armed forces -provide and maintain a navy -establish standard weights and measures -create naturalization laws -punish counterfeiting money -punish piracies and felonies on the seas -develop roads and postal service - define bankruptcy - treaties -national elections

Guarantees to the states

-state creation and division after the civil war -republican form of government -representation within the US congress - electoral college participation - Ratification in amendments -Protection by the US military -Court prosecutions Local taxation (Sales tax, income tax, property tax)

Advantages of the federal system

-states can experiment with novel social and economic policies without risking the entire nation -protects the liberty of the individual from arbitrary power by separating said power -accommodates a diversity in preferences in a heterogeneous society -states can compete and citizens can move to a place that best suits them and thir political ideals - most appropriate level of government can be used increases efficiency

Define social contract theory

-the idea that all individuals possess inalienable right and willingly submit to the government to protect these rights - constitutions are contracts between the citizens and the government and cannot be violates -constitution provides a framework for the interaction between citizens and the government

Where is the TX bill of rights located?

Article 1

Where is the US Bill of rights located?

Article 7

What was the first constitution to govern anglos in texas?

Coahuila y Tejas (1824)

The constitution we have today can be mainly attributed to?

Governor Edmund J. Davis and his power grab

The Equal protection and Due process Clause

state and local governments must treat people equally in accordance with the established rules and procedures

devolution of pwer

states given even greater authority on program construction and administration in the 1990s

Define popular sovereignty

the idea that at root, the power rests with the people - this makes the constitution articulate the will of the people by popularly elected convention of citizens - requires the people must approve changes made to the constitution