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Texas Constitution The main point of Texas history from Reconstruction to the present was its entrance and connection with the rest of the United States. The process was long and a lot of events preceded it; but as a result every year Texas lost its regional distinctiveness and became less "Texan." Since that time political processes in the country influenced greatly the inner policy of the state. During the period less than 100 years the Texas Constitution was changed several times. There were several preconditions for it.
First of all, there were some political and economical changes in Europe and its American colonies in the 19 th century. The French Revolution and Napoleonic wars made Spain pay less attention to its colonies. Dissatisfaction increased and Texans wanted to create their local government. The first Constitution was written in 1827, and since that time has been rewritten six times. The last version of it was created in 1876 and it was a result of the Reconstruction experience. Reconstruction policies were oppressive; the Constitution was designed to put strong restraints on government to guard against future abuses of power. (Dye, ch. 16) 1876 was a difficult year for Texas: taxes were heavy, debts rose.
Democrats, many of them were farmers, introduced an antigovernment constitution, which moved power more to the local level and limited taxes. (Dye, ch. 16) The constitution was based on three main principles: popular sovereignty, limited government, and separation of powers. But it was very long (over 100, 000 words). Most of all it is restrictive and is considered to be counterproductive. The Constitution limited executive power but the number of boards and commissions increased.
Thats why a ballot-list at election time was too long and it made difficult for voters the process of election. Thats why voter participation decreased. The other weakness was low-paid legislature; spending was restricted. But the result of those measures was not positive. It allowed major economic interests within the state to dominate the policy-making process, often to the detriment of the lower socioeconomic groups. (Dye, ch. 16) Most of all special interests group was given a great deal of influence on judicature because all judicial officeholders were elected. As a result the strengths of the Constitution such as limitation of the authority and the power of governmental institutions, and decentralization were not successful; and led to negative after-effects.
The Constitution limited the ability of state and local governments to adapt effectively to economic and demographic changes. But in spite of it, the Constitution has not been changed since 1876. It causes a lot of problems nowadays. However, there were several attempts to change the Constitution. With this purpose a lot of amendments are constantly being added. For a period less than 200 years 409 amendments were proposed.
Those amendments have made the document much more complicated. A lot of parts are obsolete and contradictory, and has little relationship to the subject matter that was originally there (Dye, ch. 16). In 1974, it was decided to rewrite the Constitution; but the attempt failed. It happened because powerful elite was against it and it showed the state's conservative policy. Consequently, it is much easier to mobilize public opinion against rather than for wholesale change. (Dye, ch. 16) For many years different groups have been trying to protect their interests through constitutional amendments thats why a lot of the population of the state are against any changes.
Most of all debates over the Constitution are complex, and ordinary people sometimes cannot catch the meaning of future changes. In 1999, there was another attempt to change the Constitution, but it was rejected by the Legislature. On September 18 th, 1999, a convention in Sabine County, Texas, the first of 176 counties needed, ratified a constitution for Texas, Texas Constitution 2000 that will return Texas to the principles espoused in the American Declaration of Independence. I agree with Justice Brennan that once said that we need to look to state constitutions as the source of liberty.
I think that we should avoid terms like "the first amendment right to freedom of religion" which ignore state constitutional rights. As it was pointed by Dye the Texas Constitution of 1876 is more like a compilation of statutory language than a statement of governmental principles. Thats why it is right that some changes have been made. Bibliography: Constitution of the State of Texas (1876). The University of Texas at Austin, March 11, 2005. web Texas History and Culture.
The Southwestern Studies Program. El Centro College's History Department. web Thomas R, Dye. Politics in America, Brief Texas Edition, chapter 16, December 16, 2002.
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Research essay sample on Dye Ch 16 Change The Constitution Texas
