Simone Lawson
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas, the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas, was drafted by 59 delegates who assembled at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836. It was written in haste, borrowing language from the US Constitution and other state constitutions. The Texas Constitution was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845 and included provisions on the separation of powers, a bicameral legislature, and checks and balances. The amending process was complex, and despite several suggestions, no amendments were ever adopted during its ten-year lifespan.
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What You'll Learn
- The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas
- The constitution was modelled on the US Constitution and some state constitutions
- It was written in haste due to the threat of attack by Mexican cavalry
- It was only 6,500 words long and granted generous powers to state officials
- The constitution included provisions relating to land and the right to own slaves
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas, formed in 1836, was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas. It was drafted by a convention of 59 delegates who assembled at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836. The constitution was modelled after the United States Constitution and borrowed language from several contemporary state constitutions. The haste to complete the document, due to the ever-present threat of attack by Mexican cavalry, led to portions being lifted directly from these sources.
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was only 6,500 words long and included a short preamble, a separation of powers into three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial), checks and balances, slavery, citizenship, a Bill of Rights, male suffrage, and a method of amendment. The legislative branch was bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, while the executive branch resembled the American presidency. The constitution also included provisions adapted from Spanish-Mexican law, such as community property, homestead exemptions, and debtor relief.
The constitution was designed to protect the rights of people in the unoccupied lands of the republic, which was a major attraction for immigrants coming to Texas. It also included specific provisions relating to land, such as the protection of family homesteads from forced sale. The amending process was complex, and although several amendments were suggested during its ten-year lifespan, none were ever adopted.
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas served as the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845, when Texas was admitted to the Union as a state in the United States. The Constitution of 1845 was almost twice as long as its predecessor and included more detailed provisions on the legislative branch, including the compensation of legislators and the process for proposing amendments.
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The constitution was modelled on the US Constitution and some state constitutions
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas. It was drafted by 59 delegates who assembled at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836. The constitution was modelled on the US Constitution and some state constitutions.
The Texas constitution was a brief document (less than 6,500 words) that granted generous powers to state officials, especially the chief executive. It avoided placing many limitations and restrictions on the government. The constitution included a short preamble, separation of powers into three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial), checks and balances, slavery, citizenship, a Bill of Rights, male suffrage, and a method of amendment. The legislature was bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive branch resembled the American presidency, and there was a four-tiered judiciary system: justice, county, district, and supreme courts.
The Texas constitution borrowed language and ideas from the US Constitution and several contemporary state constitutions. The use of familiar features and phrases from older American constitutions made the document more accessible and understandable to the people. The Texas constitution also included provisions adapted from Spanish-Mexican law, such as community property, homestead exemptions, and protections, and debtor relief.
The constitution was written in haste due to the ever-present threat of attack by Mexican forces, which stifled originality. The delegates lifted portions from existing constitutions, including the US Constitution and several state constitutions from southern and western states. The Texas constitution also reflected the social and economic conditions of the time and the legal preferences of the predominantly Anglo-American settlers.
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It was written in haste due to the threat of attack by Mexican cavalry
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas. It was written in haste due to the threat of attack by Mexican cavalry. The constitution was drafted by a convention of 59 delegates who assembled at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836. A mere 15 days later, the convention adopted a constitution, which was then ratified by a vote of the people of the republic on the first Monday in September 1836.
The urgency of the situation meant that the delegates had little time to be original. As a result, they borrowed heavily from the United States Constitution and several contemporary state constitutions. The use of such models produced a document with some familiar features. For example, the Texas Constitution included a short preamble, separation of powers into three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial), and checks and balances. It also protected the right to own slaves and, like other constitutions of the time, prohibited "Indians" and "Africans" from becoming citizens.
The Texas Constitution was admirably brief, consisting of less than 6,500 words. It contained generous grants of power to state officials, especially the chief executive. It also avoided placing many limitations and restrictions on the government, which was a notable difference from other state constitutions of the time. The well-known words and phrases of older American constitutions were preserved, making the document easier to understand.
The constitution also included some provisions adapted from Spanish-Mexican law, such as community property, homestead exemptions, and protections, and debtor relief. The amending process was complex, and in the ten-year lifespan of the constitution, no amendments were ever adopted. Some of the most important provisions dealt with land ownership, as the document sought to protect the rights of people in the unoccupied lands of the republic, which were a major attraction for immigrants.
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It was only 6,500 words long and granted generous powers to state officials
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas. It was concise, at only 6,500 words, and modelled after the US Constitution and several contemporary state constitutions. The Texas Constitution was drafted by a convention of 59 delegates who assembled at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836. It was written and adopted in haste due to the ever-present threat of attack by Mexican cavalry.
The Texas Constitution included a short preamble, separation of powers into three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial), checks and balances, slavery, citizenship, a Bill of Rights, male suffrage, and a method of amendment. The legislative branch was bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive branch resembled the American presidency, and the judiciary system had four tiers: justice, county, district, and supreme courts.
The Texas Constitution granted generous powers to state officials, particularly the chief executive. It avoided many of the specific limitations and restrictions on government often found in state constitutions of that time. The document also protected the right to own slaves and prohibited "Indians" and "Africans" from living freely in the country or becoming citizens.
The Texas Constitution of 1836 was a product of the social and economic conditions of the time, as well as the constitutional and legal heritage of Texas, the southern and western states, and the United States. It included provisions adapted from Spanish-Mexican law, such as community property, homestead exemptions, and protections, and debtor relief. The amending process was complex, and although several amendments were proposed during its ten-year lifespan, none were ever adopted.
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The constitution included provisions relating to land and the right to own slaves
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) was drafted by a convention of fifty-nine delegates who assembled at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836. It was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas. The constitution was modelled after the US Constitution and the constitutions of several southern states. It formed a unitary republic and protected the right to own slaves.
The constitution also provided that the head of a family, except for "Africans, the descendants of Africans, and Indians", was entitled to one league and labour of land. Every man at least seventeen was entitled to one-third of a league of land. Orphan children whose parents were entitled to land under the colonisation law of Mexico and who now reside in the Republic, are entitled to all the rights that their parents had at the time of their death.
The constitution further protected the right to own slaves by prohibiting the legislature from passing laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners and without paying their owners a full equivalent in money for the emancipated slaves. It also allowed emigrants to bring their slaves into the state, so long as they were considered slaves under the laws of any of the United States, and provided that such slaves were the bona fide property of such emigrants. The constitution also included provisions to prevent slaves from being brought into the state as merchandise and to ensure that slaves received an impartial trial by a petit jury for crimes other than petit larceny.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern Texas. It was written by 59 delegates who met at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836, and was based on the US Constitution and some state constitutions.
Yes, the Texas Republic Constitution did have checks and balances. It also included the separation of powers of the government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
The Texas Republic Constitution was less than 6,500 words long and granted generous powers to state officials, especially the chief executive. It also included a Bill of Rights, male suffrage, and a method of amendment. The constitution protected the right to own slaves and prohibited "Indians" and "Africans" from becoming citizens.
The Texas Republic Constitution was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845. On December 29, 1845, the United States admitted the State of Texas to the Union.
