U.S. Constitution vs. Texas Constitution Essay

Texas has had six constitutions since it won its independence from Mexico in 1836. From the time of the first constitution to the current constitution in place, there were an abundance of influences on the ways the

The Texas Constitution and the United States Constitution have been essential in the governing of Texas and the United States, respectively. Both documents have set limits on what the governments can and cannot do and help both governments administer their respective constituents. The Texas Constitution and the US Constitution share similarities such as the separation of powers and checks and balances; however, because of their differing histories, they have many differences such as how the executive and the judiciary are elected. These similarities and differences have led to strengths and weaknesses in the two documents, and parts of the US Constitution can help the governing of Texas, and vice versa.

Texas has been through a lot of changes and constitutions. After constants debates of what the constitution should be, the current Texas constitution was established in 1876 and is the 7th constitution Texas has had. It created 3 branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The current constitution has great qualities, but it also contains a lot of weaknesses that shouldn’t be ignored for the sake of pride.

Constitutions are a necessary tool in keeping a Nation running in a smooth manner. One is also necessary in keeping the components, which are states, running in an ordered way. The constitution of Texas has a long historical trail from 1827 to 1876 and there are many events that occurred during this time period. The current Texas constitution has many strengths and weaknesses and there have been revisions made to this document. This document limits the way government can be involved in certain problems that arise in Texas. The Texas constitution is a document with positives and negatives but it is definitely a necessity.

Texas and California are two states in the US that are comparable in terms of their population, resources, size, economy and constitution. The Texas Constitution is the foundation of the statehood of Texas within which the government operates in the same way that U.S. constitution governs the affairs of the whole country with its allocated power. The Texas constitution has a huge influence on the daily lives of Texans Possibly even more than the U.S. Constitution. Although all states have its own constitution, Texas and California have different ways in which they gained their constitution. Like most state in the U.S. The state of California gained its constitution after the civil war, the constitution was ratified in 1879 and It is similar to the Texas constitution in many ways. Both constitutions are founded on the unanimous vote of its people and are grounded by the rule of

In both of the Constitutions they do outline the use of the government powers. One of the similarities is the way they are used to go about amending the Constitution. These are relativities of the Constitution and the molds of earlier drafts. They are continuously restructuring, reformatting and amending as needed. The Texas Constitution helped build what is called the Texas “current” Constitution. In the Legislative Branch, Texas constitution reinforces the constitutional amendment, which forces the state to follow procedure. This is not mandatory nor does it happen all the time, but rarely. In the Executive Branch, the United States Constitution calls for the President and Vice President. Lastly, the role Texas constitution is involved in the Judicial Branch. There are no levels to which judgment can be rendered due to overlapping jurisdiction. Qualifications for a Texas judge require no legal

The Texas constitution is very long and detailed. The Texas constitution is long and detailed because of provisions that specifically tells the government what they can or can’t do. Now with the Texas constitution the government does not have the option about interpreting it to their advantage or disadvantage. Instead any person with the power inside of the government, if they wish to act outside of laws stated in the Texas constitution must have to amend the constitution. Now for the United States constitution, it is very brief and broad which allows the government to interpret it any way they would like in a sense. By doing this they can claim their implied powers to meet any specific circumstances that must do with public policy. When it comes to civil liberties the United states constitution are listed as the bill of rights which are just amendments listed versus the Texas constitution which are also called bill of rights but are stated in the first

The Texas Constitution has evolved in many ways throughout history. Before the current constitution there were five predecessors. There were many factors that effected each of the five constitutions. After very long governance by Spain and Mexico and a small war with Mexico, the Texans finally won their independence. The first constitution had become official in September of 1836. This first constitution was called the Republic Of Texas Constitution. After struggling for about nine years to become apart of the Union, Texas’s second constitution was created. The Second constitution was called the Statehood Constitution and was thought to be one of the best constitutions of time. The Jacksonian Democracy greatly influenced the Statehood Constitution. The idea of the Jacksonian Democracy was to increase the people’s participation in the government. This Constitution lasted about 16 years until Texas joined the Confederate Sates of America in 1861. This third constitution was called the Civil War Constitution. The main goal was to modify the

The U.S. constitution and the Texas constitution have similarities and differences. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a summary of the rights given to all people. These constitutions also talk about suffrage and taxes. Just like how both of these constitutions have similarities, they also have differences. The Texas constitution is longer than the U.S. constitution and discusses the rights first. It also deals with state and local issues not brought up in the U.S. constitution. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights, but the Texas constitution discusses citizens’ rights at the beginning of article one. The Texas Bill of Rights has the same protections for citizens like the U.S. Bill of Rights does, but the Texas Bill of Rights extends beyond federal protections. The executive branch is the branch that the president is in charge of. The definition of the executive branch is “The branch of federal and state government that is broadly

Constitution of Texas is the main source of state law. The Constitution also contains different

The Texas Constitution (1876) as well as the United States Constitution (1791) have a plethora of similarities conceptually, as they are both rooted with the same ideologies of democracy. However, what sets these two documents apart is that the Texas constitution goes into more depth on laws and how its government works. In contrast, the US Constitution is more vague allowing it to be a far more timeless and living document. This paper will be comparing and contrasting these four provisions from the U.S and Texas Constitutions: The Bill of Rights, amending the constitution, the legislative branch, and the executive branch.

The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document representing the structure and function of the Texas government. The current Constitution took effect on February 15, 1876 and is the sixth Constitution in the history of Texas. When first constructed, the Texas Constitution was a poorly organized document that did not explain clearly the responsibility for government actions. Since its conception (through June 2011), there have been 646 proposed amendments and 476 adopted amendments added to this document. The Texas Constitution is also highly restrictive; it only grants enumerated powers to the State of Texas and does not allow for implied powers. The constant change to this Constitution has added to its poor organized condition that is extremely difficult to understand, even by the courts.

In the Texas Constitution, there are seventeen articles in total and the first one being the Bill of Rights. On the other hand, the United States Constitution has seven articles; the first articles discuss the legislative powers. Although, Texas and the national constitution have similarities such as the protection and order of the citizens; they also have differences which is the structure and features of the constitution.

The Texas and the U.S constitution are very similar in principle, a constitution in the book is defined as “the legal structure of a government, which establishes its power and authority as well as the limits on power.”(pg.71) This definition sets the basis of which the Texas and U.S consititution are based on, essentially they are a governing document. In addition there are five major ideologies that unite both constitutions. The first, is political power being derived from ‘the people’. This may be done through our voting system. Second, Three separate branches of government (division of political power) these are the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Third, the governing document has a system created to ensure that no branch, party, or person may abuse their duty or responsibility; also known as the system of “checks and balances”. Fourthly, the idea of individual rights; “the concern for preventing the emergence of tyranny is also found in the fourth idea”(pg.71) and Finally the concept of federalism, which is a system of power is divided within the government, that included and central government, and many more regional (by area)

Currently, the Texas Constitution has 87,000 words and continues growing because of constant amendments for modern society. That is overkill compared to the United States Constitution. A constitution should be like a guideline containing just the fundamental basics allowing society to function well and balanced. It should not dictate to deal with actions but encourage a way of life. A generally written constitution provides an idea, agreed by the Framers, so people in society would behave within an orderly