Texas Government 2306 (chapter 2) PDF

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Texas Government 2306-56c

9/2/20 Hanna Warnick CHAPTER 2 (Lesson 2)

Constitution: pg. 47 the legal structure of a government, which establishes it’s power and authority as well as the limits on that power, separation of powers, the division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making. Checks and balances, the constitutional idea that overlapping power is given to different branches of the government to limit the concentration of power in any one branch, tyranny according to James Madison, the concentration of power in any one branch of govt, James Madison and the Federalist papers, pg. 47 Federalism: the system of government in which power is divided by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments, supremacy clause: article VI (article 6) of the US constitution and laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by an state or subdivision, necessary and proper clause: article 1, Section 8 of the US constitution; it provides congress with the authority to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out its powers. The Texas Constitutions: (1836-1876) pg. 49 The Texas founding: pg. 49 The constitution of Coahuila y Tejas, 1827, Mexican war of independence, Napoleonic wars, King Ferdinand VII, Mew Spain 1809-1810, Mexican Constitution of 1824, State of Coahuila y Tejas, unicameral legislature. Unicameral: comprising one body or house as in a one-house legislature, Bexar district, pg. 50. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas, 1836: pg. 51. Stephen F Austin, Empresarios, 1833 convention drafted constitution, 1835 San Felipe, Mexican Constitution of 1824, Texas Declaration of Independence 1836 convention Washington-on-the-brazos, pg. 51 The Texas Declaration of Independence: pg. 53 George C. Childress, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Bicameral: having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers of houses, 1836 constitution, Bill of Rights, pg. 52 THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 1836 CHART PG. 53. Red River, English Common Law replaced Spanish and Mexican Law, Constitution of 1866, 1869 and 1876, mineral rights and gas, pg. 53 TEXAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE PICTURE PG. 54. Constitution of Coahuila y Texas 1827, slavery pg. 54. Antonio Lopez do Santa Anna, Annexation into the United States 1845, pg. 55. Texas State Constitution of 1845: pg. 55. Treaty of Velasco, Annexation provisions, Anson Jones (fourth and final president of US) convention in Austin 1845, houses od legislature, Permanent School Fund, elected governor and lieutenant governor, judicial branch, amendments pg. 55. The Constitution of 1861: Texas Joins the Confederacy: pg. 56. Texas Economy: slavery, ranching, corn, wheat, president Abraham Lincoln, Governor Sam Houston, Texas Ordinance of Secession 1861, pg. 57 Confederacy: the confederate states of America those southern states that seceded from the united states in late 1860 and 1861 and argues that the power of the states was more important than the power of the central govt, Presidential reconstruction: a reconstruction plan for reintegrating former confederate states back into the union and freeing the slaves that placed mild demands upon the existing power structure, 1866 texas constitution, Andrew Jackson Hamilton, Robert E Lee’s army surrender, pg. 58. Constitution of 1866 ratified, Congressional Reconstruction Acts of 1867, pg. 59. The Reconstruction Constitution of 1869: pg. 59 Radical Republicans, General Winfield Scott, pg. 59. Secession of Ordinance of 1861, THE CHANGING TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS 1845-1876 CHART, pg, 60. Texas v white, Edmund Davis, Richard Coke, Democrats gain control of legislature, limiting reintegration of former confederates, pg, 61.

The Constitution of 1876: pg. 61 PICTURE OF THE 1876 CONSTITUTION UNDER DAVIS’ CONTRO CHART pg. 62. Texas an agricultural state, Constitution of 1876 conservative and populist, pg. 63 A CONSTITUTIONAL TIMELINE 1836-1876 CHART pg. 63. Richard Coke’s inaugural address 1876, pg 64. The Constitution of Texas Today: limited government: a principle of constitutional govt, a principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined by and limited by a constitution. THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION AN OVERVIEW- CHART pg 65. Preamble to Texas Constitution: page 65. Bill of Rights (Article 1) The right to republican govt pg. 66. Article 2: The Powers of Government: pg. 67 Article 3: Legislative Department, pg 67 Texas Ethics Commission, Veterans Land Board, Texas Water Development board, Texas Park Development, State education board, superconducting supercollider, pg 68. Article 4: Executive Development: pg, 68. concentrates executive power in the presidency, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Plural Executive, governor, lieutenant governor, Secretary of State, comptroller of public accounts, Commissioner of the General Land Office, the attorney General, pg. 68 Article 5: Judicial Department: pg. 68 MAJOR CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS IN TEXAS CHART: pg 69. Lesser courts of appeal, civil cases district courts etc. Article 6: Suffrage: pg. 70 electors and voter registration, pg. 70 Article 7: Education: pg 70. State board of education, Texas A&M University, University of Texas, pg. 70 Article 8: Taxation and Revenue: pg 70. Most controversial section of Tx Constitution, pg. 70. WHICH STATE HAS THE LONGEST CONSTITUTION CHART (Texas second longest only to Alabama) pg 71. Income tax, section 24 section 1 article 8, pg 72 Articles 9 and 11: Local Government: pg. 72. Counties and municipal corporations pg 72. Articles 10, 12, 13, and 14: pg 72. Railroads, private corporations, Spanish and Mexican land titles, public lands, stock holders, General Land Office. Article 15: Impeachment: pg. 72. Article 16: General Provisions: pg, 73 Longest article, official oaths, community property, banking corporations, stock laws, election of the Texas Railroad Commission, state retirement systems pg 73. Article 17: Amending the Constitution: pg 73. Recent attempts to rewrite the Texas Constitution: pg 73. AMENDING THE TX CONSTITUTION CHART PG 74. Texas constitution amended 491 times since its inception in 1876 (pg 74) Sharpstown and the failed Constitutional Reforms of 1974: pg 74. Sharpstown State Bank and the National Bankers Life Insurance Corperation, federal securities and Exchange Commission, Elmer Buam, Speaker of the House Gus Mutscher, Dolph Briscoe, pg 74. Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby, Jr. and attorney General John Hill. Constitutional convention January 8 1974. Pg. 75. Recent Amendments: pg 75. Tea Party and antitax groups, El Paso, proposition 4 pg 75. PASSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS (2017) CHART pg, 76. Proposition 8, Upshur and Smith Counties pg 76.WHO VOTES IN THE ELECTIONS AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION CHART PG 77. “A Sincerely held belief is a legitimate reason to exempt someone from laws designed to exempt discrimination” poll chart pg. 78. Proposition 2 same sex marriage, proposition 12 pg. 78. IMPORTANT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS TABLE 2.7 CHART PG 80.

STUDOC NOTES:

Chapter 2: The Texas Constitution Texas Constitution is the legal framework within which government works in Texas and has an immediate and enormous impact on citizens’ everyday lives. The Role of a State Constitution Constitution – legal structure of a government, which establishes its power and authority as well as the limits on that

power. - Justify and make legitimate state political institutions by clearly explaining the source of their power and auth. - Delegate power and explain how power is to be used - Responsible for establishment of local govts (counties, municipalities, special-purpose districts) - Prevent the concentration of political power by checks and balances

- Define the limits of political power (forbid intrusion of govt into lives of individuals) Five ideas that unite US and Texas constitutional experiences: 1. Political power derived from the people; political power artificially created through constitution by conscious act of the people 2. Separation of powers – division of governmental power among several

institutions that must cooperate in decision making 3. Checks and balances – overlapping power is given to different branches of government to limit the concentration of power in any one branch; protects from tyranny – According to James Madison, the concentration of power in any one branch of government 4. Individual rights – govt forbidden from violating

particular rights of the people (freedom of speech, assembly, religion); Texas grants more: certain victims’ rights, right to free public education 5. Federalism – division of govt into central govt and regional govts (remember 10 th

amendment – states’ rights, which also gives rights to the people as well)

Differences between US and Texas constitutions: 1. Supremacy clause – Article VI of the US const, which states that the const and laws passed by natl govt and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or subdivision a. Civil war – reminded us of issues of how federal system was to be understood; ratification of 14 th

amendment in 1868 – bill of rights applies to states and ultimately placed restrictions on Texas govt 2. Necessary and proper clause – Article I, Section 8 of US const that provides Congress with the authority to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out its powers; Texas unwilling to grant such a loophole to officeholders 3. Texas has power to establish local governments

(not found in US constitution); sovereign entities unto themselves, deriving power directly from the people in the state through the state constitution; Texas not created by US const; Local governments within Texas derive auth directly from state const and people of Texas as a whole, not from people in the locality The Texas Constitutions: 1836-1876

The Texas Founding – 18361876 – Texas declared itself an independent republic from Mexico A. The Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas, 1827 a. History: August 24, 1821 – Mexico formally granted independence by Spain; Mexican Constitution of 1824 – first federal constitution Texas operated under; like US Const with two houses of Congress, president, vice-president with 4-year terms, supreme

court; Catholicism was state religion and financially supported by the state b. Details: i. State divided into three districts (Texas composed Bexar) Chapter 2: The Texas Constitution Texas Constitution is the legal framework within which government works in Texas and has an immediate and enormous impact on citizens’ everyday lives. The Role of a State Constitution Constitution – legal structure of a government, which establishes its power and authority as well as the limits on that power. - Justify and make legitimate state political institutions by clearly explaining the source of their power and auth. - Delegate power and explain how power is to be used - Responsible for establishment of local govts (counties, municipalities, special-purpose districts) - Prevent the concentration of political power by checks and balances - Define the limits of political power (forbid intrusion of govt into lives of individuals) Five ideas that unite US and Texas constitutional experiences: 1. Political power derived from the people; political power artificially created through constitution by conscious act of the people 2. Separation of powers – division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making

3. Checks and balances

– overlapping power is given to different branches of government to limit the

concentration of power in any one branch; protects from tyranny – According to James Madison, the concentration of power in any one branch of government 4. Individual rights – govt forbidden from violating particular rights of the people (freedom of speech, assembly, religion); Texas grants more: certain victims’ rights, right to free public education 5. Federalism – division of govt into central govt and regional govts (remember 10 th amendment – states’ rights, which also gives rights to the people as well) Differences between US and Texas constitutions: 1. Supremacy clause

– Article VI of the US const, which states that the const and laws passed by natl govt and all

treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or subdivision a. Civil war – reminded us of issues of how federal system was to be understood; ratification of 14 th

amendment in 1868 – bill of rights applies to states and ultimately placed restrictions on Texas govt 2. Necessary and proper clause make

– Article I, Section 8 of US const that provides Congress with the authority to

all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out its powers; Texas unwilling to grant such a loophole to officeholders 3. Texas has power to establish local governments (not found in US constitution); sovereign entities unto themselves, deriving power directly from the people in the state through the state constitution; Texas not created by US const; Local governments within Texas derive auth directly from state const and people of Texas as a whole, not from people in the locality The Texas Constitutions: 1836-1876 The Texas Founding – 1836-1876 – Texas declared itself an independent republic from Mexico A. The Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas, 1827 a. History: August 24, 1821 – Mexico formally granted independence by Spain; Mexican Constitution of 1824 – first federal constitution Texas operated under; like US Const with two houses of Congress, president, vice-president with 4-year terms, supreme court; Catholicism was state religion and financially supported by the state b. Details: i. State divided into three districts (Texas composed Bexar)

v. Some opposition to ratifying new constitution:1. Salary increases for state officers2. Some thought that it was ideology dominated by former secessionists – i.e., black codes that limited social, political, and economic status of African Americans in Texas; Radical Republicans in Washington passed Congressional Reconstruction Acts of 1867 – disenfranchised former Confederates and granted former slaves American citizenship and the right to voteF. The Reconstruction Constitution of 1869 a. History: General Winfield Scott (unionist) dismissed most state officials elected to office under 1866 const and called for new convention for new const – former secessionists would be banned from voting or holding office. Radical Republicans (bloc of Republicans in the US Congress who pushed through the adoption of African American suffrage as well as an extended period of military occupation of the South following the Civil War) won the vote to hold convention (10 were African American). This Const published under orders by military officials, without being submitted to the voters.b. Details: overarching theme was centralized power in the executive while reducing local governmental controli. US Const declared to be supreme law of landii. Slavery forbidden; African Americans given right to voteiii. 14th Amendment recognized (privileges and immunities of citizens, due process, equal protection)iv. House set at 90 and Senate at 30v. Powers of governor expanded; given wide-ranging appointment powers, including power to appoint judgesvi. State supreme court reduced back to 3 judges and terms reduced to 9 years, with one new judge appointed every three yearsvii. Salaries for state officials increasedc. Other: debate over whether Texas ever left union and how the laws passed by legislature in that time were even legal or still withstanding. Texas v. White et al (1869) cleared that up when it said Texas never left the Union and all acts of legislature at the time were null. i. Also, Gov. Edmund Davis (unionist and Radical Republican) sought to maintain control of the state by limiting former Confederates into state politics. ii. 1872, Dems regained control, Richard Coke elected gov. Davis tried to invalidate Coke’s electionand the result was removal by force of Davis from office.G. The Constitution of 1876 a. History: 1875, new constitutional convention called with 3 delegates selected by pop vote from each district; 75 white Dems, 15 Reps, 6 African American; none participated in constitutional convention of 1868-1869 (new blood); 40 were farmers, 40 members of the Grange (militant farmers’ movement of the late 19th century that fought for improved conditions for farmers). This const is the basis for Texas government today. Based on agriculture when prices and incomes were low, and little was demanded from government. Designed by primarily white males for whites in rural agrarian society. Hostile to many of the efforts of Reconstruction.b. Details: 4 major themesi. Strong popular control of state government1. Made judges and public officials subject to electionii. Belief that constitution should seriously limit the power of state government1. Restrictions on governmental actions, only modifiable through complex amendment process2. Executive auth diffused amount other officeholders, rather than concentrated in hands of governor Sharpstown and the Failed Constitutional Reforms of 1974 Major stock fraud in 70s involving Sharpstown State Bank and the National Bankers Life Insurance Corporation; suit filed that alleged several influential Democrats in the state offices had been bribed. Speaker of House Gus Mutscher and two others were indicted and convicted. These convictions blew up the political system in Texas, resulting in Dolph Briscoe (conservative rancher-banker) being elected governor by plurality, not popular vote (first in history). After elections, half of the House had new members and more new Senators. Elections also passed empowering legislature to be constitutional convention and rewrite constitution. Failed due to political strife among legislators in 1974. Another attempt to rewrite was foiled as well in 1975. Recent Amendments Low voter turnout dealing with constitutional amendments. Possible reasons:

1. Constitutional amendment elections held in “off” years, no elections with candidates on the ballot 2. Many amendments insignificant to most voters, or only focus on a narrow group of people One exception: 2005 constitutional amendment election regarding Prop. 2 – defined marriage in Texas as the union of one man and one woman. Prohibited the state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical to marriage. People felt it affected their value systems and it was important to vote their moral value...