The present constitution marks the seventh act in Texas history. The first six previous constitutions began from 1827 to 1869. What differentiates Texas from the other states is its unique past as a state. In 1824, Texas as a state had many changes. Between 1824 and 1876, the state was a portion of America of Mexico, an autonomous republic, a state in confederate America’s conditions, and a state in the US (Chriss, 2018). The initial founding records that legally created this state’s entity set forth its citizens’ responsibilities and rights and explained the powers and scope of its administration. The 1827 Coahuila constitution appreciated Texas as a state of Mexican with Coahuila. The 1836 Texas pronunciation of autonomy and the act of the Republic of Texas was a short document based firmly on the American constitution. It was not changed and worked for a few years before the state bonded America. The 1845 initial state constitution was more detailed. The figure was mainly for establishing the Texas school funding program and free public learning system.
The 1861 confederate constitution had changed from the 1845 constitution (Bjornskov & Voigt, 2017). The changes were few and had revisions of statements to show the integration of the state in the alliance. The 1866 post-battle constitution was adopted after the termination of the civil battle. The act was not intended to become the last governing record of this state but as a placeholder to faster eradicate the confederate constitution. Its main aims were to stop slavery and offer rights to African-Americans. The 1869 reconstruction act aimed to eradicate slavery more explicitly and offer civil freedoms to all people, according to the Reconstruction constitution passed by congress (Chriss, 2018). However, the act had different provisions that disgraced many citizens, leading to the establishment of the next show. Most significantly, it barred voting privileges from the previous confederate officials and tremendous vested capability in government officers, for instance, the governor.
The constitution of 1876 was the sixth act through which the state ruled since independence from Mexico in 1836. It was mounted by the acts convention of 1875 and approved in 1876 through a vote number of 136,606 against 56,652 voters and still stands as the specific organic law of the state (Bjornskov & Voigt, 2017). The act of 1876 started with a long bill of rights. It stated that Texas was an independent and free state that was only subject to the action of America and that all free individuals have similar rights. The constitution had some weaknesses and restrictions. For instance, it weakens the government by reducing the period from 4 to 2 years, reducing specific powers, and embracing salary cuts (Chriss, 2018). The legislative arm of the government was incapacitated since remuneration was cut, reduced the session’s length, and limited the spending and taxing of the legislature. Texas should rewrite its current state constitution. The reason is that the act is too protracted and must be marshaled. In fact, it’s one of the acts that have undergone many changes, making it more complicated and America’s prolonged constitution (Bjornskov & Voigt, 2017). It has the fourth most prominent figure of changes, with South Carolina, Alabama, and California leading. Amending this state’s constitution is necessary since it will enable the state to develop simple policies that will aid the state in creating rather than a complicated document with many conflicts of interest.
References
Bjornskov, C., & Voigt, S. (2017). Dealing with Disaster: Analyzing the Emergency Constitutions of the US States. Ariz. St. LJ, 49, 883.
Chriss, W. J. (2018). Six Constitutions over Texas, 1836-1876. TECHS J., 8, 38.
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