Thread by @IJSanders

1. Yeeha! This week’s edition of #50Weeks50Constitutions take us to the #LoneStarState. Texas’ constitutional history begins before it joined the union. After gaining independence from Mexico the Republic of Texas adopted its own constitution.

2. 59 delegates met in San Antonio to draft a Declaration of Independence from Mexico & a Constitution. The drafters were heavily influence by the U.S. Constitution, as is evident from the preamble, & the overall structure was comparable to other constitutions of the day.

3. The drafters placed the Declaration of Rights first in the constitution gave it 17 sections of mostly standard rights. Though, this independent constitution had both a “proto-Baby Ninth Amendment” & a Baby 10th Amendment. Learn more here:

libraries.mercer.edu/ursa/handle/10…

4. When the voters approved this 1836 Constitution, they also approved joining the U.S. But this took a bit, & slavery complicated the matter. Outgoing President John Tyler made an official offer in 1845, an offer supported by the incoming President Polk. Texas took the offer.

5. Texas had to adopt a new constitution, acceptable to Congress, before joining the union. Texas began this task in 1845 and the resulting document was referred to as the best state constitution of the day by Sen. Daniel Webster, an opponent of the annexation of Texas.

6. This 1845 Constitution carried over much of the previous constitution, including most of the Declaration of Rights, although it dropped their Baby Ninth Amendment. The structure of the government was like all other states.

7. Most intriguingly, the drafters placed the article on the judiciary between the legislative and executive articles. The Supreme Court and District Court Judges were all appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate, for six-year terms.

8. The federal government accepted this constitution in late December 1845 & Texas was admitted to the union in short order. Fun fact: Texas still arguably has permission from Congress to split itself into multiple states! Check out this fun article:

texaslawreview.org/wp-content/upl…

9. But the union, of course, did not last. In 1861 Texas seceded, joined the Confederacy and adopted a new, confederate, constitution.

10. The Texas government did not submit the Confederate Constitution to the voters for approval, but it wasn’t much different from the old one. The biggest change was the removal of any language referring to, or pledging allegiance to, the U.S.

11. Once the South lost, Texas had to draft another constitution. It took a crack at this in 1866. This constitution nullified secession, abolished slavery, and repudiated war debt. But it failed to codify any political rights for the freedmen.

12. The voters approved this constitution, but Congress declared it illegal under the reconstruction laws after the 1867 midterm election. Texas went back to the drawing board, and this time required an iron clad loyalty oath to vote for convention delegates.

13. Requiring this oath had a monumental effect on the document. Political rights for the freedman were codified & the U.S. Constitution was declared the supreme law of the land. The freedmen provided the majority of yes votes for this constitution.

14. This constitution made all judicial offices appointive; the Supreme Court was reduced from 5 to 3 justices and the terms were reduced from 10 to 9 years. The Constitution made school attendance mandatory & gave the state the ability to supervise education.

15. This constitution did not even last a decade. The Radical Republicans quickly lost power and the Democrats regained control of the state government. They then set about calling a convention to draft a new constitution. Texans adopted this new constitution in 1876.

16. Democrats dominated the convention drafting the constitution. Only 15 of the 90 delegates were Republicans. The drafters carried over many provisions of the previous constitution but added multiple sections aimed at limiting legislative power.

17. The constitution allowed for the creation of a public university, but removed provisions mandating school attendance. Further, it limited the executive power by making the lieutenant governor, the comptroller, & the treasurer all elected positions.

18. This constitution also created the Court of Criminal Appeals and made all judges popularly elected. Texas ratified this constitution by a 2-1 margin. It is the current constitution of Texas and voters have amended it almost 500 times.

19. Texas has tried to replace the constitution numerous times, and a convention was even called in 1974. But the document was rejected. Texans love their constitution & don’t seem to have a desire to replace it with a more modern and streamlined document.

20. The Texas constitution is over 86,000 words, making it one of the longest in the nation. Its nearly 500 amendments show how much more responsive state constitutions are than the federal, which has been around for a century longer but has been amended less than 30 times.

21. Sources for this week’s edition of #50Weeks50Constitutions covering the #LoneStarState: books.google.com/books?id=PfJMA…; books.google.com/books?id=xT2t2…; tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/…; tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/; dlc.dcccd.edu/txgov1-2/texas…; smithsonianmag.com/history/more-1…