NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
Texas Government
Lesson 1: Texas Constitutions
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Why do people form governments? How do governments change?
Terms to Know
specify to state something clearly and openly
limited government constitutional principle that ensures that government powers are limited in
order to protect individual rights
legal allowed by the law
separation of powers constitutional principle that divides power among different branches of
government
checks and balances constitutional principle that gives each branch of government the ability to
limit the power of other branches
individual rights constitutional principle that recognizes people’s fundamental rights
Bill of Rights a section of a constitution that protects individual freedoms
When did it happen?
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1820
1821: Mexico wins
independence
from Spain
1840
1827: Leaders of
Coahuila y Tejas write
a state constitution
1824: Mexico adopts a
national constitution
1860
1880
1866 and 1869: Texas
adopts new state
constitutions during
Reconstruction
1876: Texans
adopt the current
constitution
1836: The Republic of
Texas adopts a
national constitution
A History of Texas Constitutions
Guiding Question How did changes in the constitutions of Texas
reflect its history?
A constitution describes a government’s structure and processes. It
specifies, or states, the government’s powers and its offices and parts.
The United States has had one constitution since 1789. However, Texas
has had eight constitutions. These reflect changes in our state’s history.
Marking the
Text
1. Highlight the purposes
of a constitution.
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Texas Government
Lesson 1: Texas Constitutions, continued
Explaining
2. Why was community
property important
during early Texas
history?
Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821. The new nation
wrote a constitution in 1824. This was the first constitution for Texas
because Texas was part of Mexico. In 1827 Texas became part of the
Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Leaders wrote a state constitution
based on Mexico's constitution. It included some ideas from Spanish
law. One such idea established community property, which is
property acquired during a marriage. Since frontier life was hard and
dangerous, this provision ensured that a widow could keep the
family home.
Nine years later, Texas won independence from Mexico. The
Republic of Texas adopted its own constitution in 1836. That
constitution included:
Identifying
3. What are two changes
made to Texas's
constitution while
Texas was part of the
Confederacy?
4. Why did Texas need a
new constitution when
it became part of the
United States?
• freedom of speech
• freedom of the press
The right to vote, however, was limited to males.
In 1845 Texas joined the United States. The constitution had to
be changed to reflect that Texas was no longer its own country
but a state with limits on its power.
In the Civil War, Texas was part of the Confederate States of
America. Its new constitution was similar to the 1845 constitution,
with a few differences. Enslaved people could not be freed, and
government officials had to be loyal to the Confederacy. After the
Civil War, Texas needed a state constitution with the same rights
as the U.S. Constitution. New constitutions were approved in 1866
and again in 1869. Both increased the governor’s power and tried
to create a strong state education system.
Many Texans disliked these two constitutions, however. In 1875
there was a new constitutional convention. The delegates wrote a
new constitution that weakened the governor’s power and limited
taxes and government spending. Voters approved this constitution
in February 1876, and it is still in effect today.
The Texas Constitution Today
Guiding Question What basic principles are included in the Texas
Constitution?
The 1876 Texas Constitution is still in effect today. While there
have been changes, or amendments, made to it over the years,
it is still based on some unchanging principles.
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Reading
Progress Check
• freedom of religion
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
Texas Government
Lesson 1: Texas Constitutions, continued
One of the most important principles of democratic government
is popular sovereignty. This means that the people decide what kind
of government they want.
The U.S. Constitution promises each state a republican form of
government. This means that people elect the government officials
to represent them. For example, Texas voters elect the governor
and members of the state legislature.
Explaining
5. What is an example of
how the United States
follows the principle of
popular sovereignty?
Limited government is a basic principle of the Texas Constitution.
For instance, the Constitution limits how much the state government
can spend each year and how much it can borrow. Also, the legislature
cannot pass laws affecting certain freedoms.
Another basic principle is federalism. In a federal system,
government powers are distributed between different levels of
government. Certain powers belong to the national government.
Other powers belong to the states. The different types of powers
are specified by the U.S. Constitution:
• Reserved powers belong only to the state government.
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• Shared powers are held by both the national and state
governments.
For instance, Texas cannot print its own money. The power to
print money is held, or reserved, only by the national government.
However, only a state can to set up public schools or pass laws to
set the legal driving age.
The Texas Constitution shares several important ideas with the
U.S. Constitution. Two of these ideas are separation of powers
and checks and balances. Like the national government, the state
government has three separate parts, or branches. Each branch
has its own tasks. Each branch can limit, or check, the power of the
other two. This ensures that no one branch gets too powerful.
The Texas Constitution is also based on the principle of individual
rights. When Texas became a state in 1845, the first part of the new
constitution was a Bill of Rights. This listing of basic rights protects
the freedoms of all Texans.
The Bill of Rights in the Texas Constitution includes many rights
from the Republic of Texas. It also includes rights that are found in the
Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. Like the U.S. Constitution, the
Texas Constitution protects the right of citizens to bear arms and to
be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Both constitutions
state that people have the right to gather in public places. Both
promise a speedy trial by jury to people accused of a crime.
Marking the
Text
6. Underline the ways
in which the Texas
Constitution limits the
government’s power.
Defining
7. What does legal mean?
Defining
8. What is a Bill of Rights?
Marking the
Text
9. Highlight the promises
that the Texas Bill of
Rights makes to Texans.
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Texas Government
Lesson 1: Texas Constitutions, continued
Finding
10. How many times has
the Texas Constitution
been amended?
The Texas Bill of Rights also makes a number of other promises to
citizens. It protects property rights and outlaws imprisoning anyone
for debt. It protects the rights of the victims of crimes. It even allows
people access to public beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.
The Texas Constitution has been amended more than 450 times
since 1876. However, it is harder to pass amendments than to pass
regular laws. Passing a law requires only a simple majority vote in
both houses of the legislature and the governor’s approval. Amending
the Texas Constitution requires two steps:
Reading
Progress Check
11. What are the principles
underlying the Texas
Constitution?
• First, two-thirds of both houses of the legislature must vote in
favor of a proposed amendment.
• Then, the amendment must win support from a majority of
voters.
Some critics say that the amendment process is complicated
and confusing. Voters may face a ballot with several proposed
amendments. One year, there were 25 proposed amendments
on the ballot. Critics say that the time needed to amend the
constitution can slow action on important issues. Also, the only
way to replace a flawed amendment is with another amendment.
Check for Understanding
1. Expository What was the first constitution for Texas and why was it written?
2. Expository In what ways are the Texas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution similar?
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Writing