Texas Constitution of 1876 Texas

Texas Constitution of 1876

Texas has had a total of six constitutions since the Republic of Texas was formed after its breakaway from Mexico in 1836. Its current constitution, adopted in 1876, is one of the longest state constitutions in the United States and has been amended more than 400 times. Its critics consider it unwieldy and restrictive and have made several unsuccessful attempts to replace it; yet the document continues to survive. This paper gives a brief description of why the Constitution of 1876 was enacted; it also discusses the characteristics and outline of the Constitution as well as the concepts of popular sovereignty, compact theory, limited government, and separation of powers incorporated in it.

Why the Constitution of 1876 was Enacted?

Texas joined the United States in 1845, following which a new Constitution was drafted that lasted until Texas seceded from the Union in 1861 at the start of the Civil War and adopted a new Constitution which prohibited the freeing of slaves besides requiring the State officials to take a pledge of loyalty to the Confederacy (Dye, 322). After the defeat of the Confederacy in the Civil War, the State adopted a new Constitution in 1866, which abolished slavery and repudiated the right of secession. However, "Radical Reconstructionists" in Washington pressured the Texans to adopt a more activist Constitution that reflected the ideals of the newly dominant Republican Party -- to enfranchise blacks and to follow an activist social agenda. Hence the "Reconstruction Constitution" of 1869 centralized political power and strengthened public institutions; it also resulted in higher taxes and greater public debt to support the increased government expenses. ("The Radical Republican Constitution...") The political elite, in particular, was opposed to the Republican agenda and exploited the local feelings against the so-called "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags" and the perceived corruption of the administration of radical Republican Governor, Edmond J. Davis. Hence the Texas Constitution of 1869 and the Radical Republican rule paved the way for the rise of the Democratic Party and the eventual adoption of the Constitution of 1876 that severely limited the powers of the government.

Characteristics & Outline of the Constitution of 1876

Like other state constitutions, the Texas Constitution of 1876 was much more detailed than the U.S. Constitution in the first place. Because it was enacted mainly as a reaction to the real and perceived misuse of powers by the Radical Republican government, the original document placed tight restrictions on the powers of the government. As a result, it had to be amended hundreds of times and is now considered to be one of the most disorganized and confusing state constitutions. ("The Texas Constitution of 1876") To make matters worse, the original document was poorly drafted and written in difficult to understand language. An example of its disorganization -- an individual subject like "local government" is found in several different parts of the Constitution. Also, in its current form, the Constitution contains a number of gaps where entire sections were repealed as a result of amendments. ("General Characteristics...")

The Texas Constitution of 1876 begins with a preamble, followed by 17 articles, starting with the Bill of Rights (Article I) and ending with the Mode of Amendment (Article XVII). The articles in between relate to the essential features of government such as "The Powers of the Government" (Article II), and its institutions such as The Legislative Department (Article III), Executive Department (Article IV) and the Judicial Department (Article V). The middle articles also cover relatively inessential features such as "Railroads" (Article X) and "Private Corporations" (Article XII).

The Major Concepts

The Texas Constitution, like most other state Constitutions in the country, borrows its major concepts from the U.S. Constitution. This includes the ideas of popular sovereignty, compact theory, limited government, and separation of powers.

Popular Sovereignty: The doctrine of popular sovereignty, or rule of the people (rather than that of a king, the legislature or the court) is the cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution, which starts with the words, "We the people." The concept is also reflected in the Texas Constitution. In fact, in order to emphasize the popular roots of the governmental authority, the very first article of the Texas Constitution contains the Bill of Rights. Section 2 of the Article states: "All political power is inherent in the people and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit." ("Preamble and Article I") That the definition of "people" at the time (1876) of the drafting of the Constitution did not include large sections of the American population is another matter. Women, for example, only gained their right of suffrage in 1920 and Article VI of the Constitution of 1876 only gives "male persons" over the age of 21 who have "resided in Texas for at least one year" the right to vote.

Compact Theory: The compact theory holds that the formation of the Union of the United States was through a "compact" of all the States individually and the creation of the national government was believed to be a creation of the states. Hence the states were the final judge of whether the national government had overstepped the boundaries of the "compact." One of the versions of the compact theory (the unilateral compact theory) was used by the Confederate secessionists to declare their secession from the Union, which signaled the start of the Civil War (Lind, para 11). In the Texas Constitution of 1876, the compact theory is used to emphasize the rights of the state and its people while remaining within the ambit of the U.S. Constitution. Section 3 of Article I of the Constitution also talks about a "social compact" of all free men to emphasize their equal rights.