Texas Political History Texas had been a Democratic Party State from Reconstruction to the 1970s o Civil rights movement in 50s and 60s drove Texans away from the party o Beliefs of parties switched around that time Texas beliefs have always been about the same party affiliation just changed There have been 8 constitutions in Texas history o 2 belonging to Mexico o 6 belonging to Texas as a state Only 6 states have more constitutions than Texas The Reconstruction Constitution of 1869 4 year governor Abolished county courts Centralized public schools with funding through poll tax Put a strong state government in place and gave federal government more power Granted African Americans the right to vote Disenfranchised those who fought in the Civil War Texas Constitution of 1876 The one still in place today Drafted by Texans who had no part in the one from 1869 Rejected centralized vision of Reconstruction o Reset shorter term limits o Reestablished statewide and local elected position o Restricted government s authority to act o Limited power of legislative and executive branches Has 17 articles and nearly 87 0000 words Made weaker government that s more directly answerable to the people Article 1 Bill of Rights o Prioritizes rights of individuals and limits of the government o US Constitution has legislative branch first Article 2 Powers of Government o Separation of powers is more explicit for Texas o US Constitution has executive branch second Article 3 Legislative Department o Meets every 2 years for 140 days Most other states meet annually o Legislators only earn 600 a month Discourages careerism in politics o US Constitution has judicial branch second Article 4 Executive Department o Plural executive system is distributed among several elected officials The system in which executive power Article 5 Judicial Department o 2 high courts Supreme court 8 justices and 1 Chief Justice Criminal Court of Appeals 8 judge pane with a presiding judge Mainly deal with death penalty appeal cases o Judges are elected not appointed o Legislative can create other courts if needed Amending the Texas Constitution o 2 step process Legislature proposes amendments Citizens vote for approval o 2 3 of members of each house must propose the amendment o A majority of voters must approve the amendment 50 1 o Legislature may also call Criticisms of the Texas Constitution o Too long o Overly detailed 2nd longest in the US Provisions could be placed in statues or agency regulations o Too much change 474 amendments 290 between 1975 2011 Today s document is radically different than the original Constitutional convention that proposes amendments requiring voter approval Commission to put forth recommendation to the legislature Federalism Framers aimed to balance preservation of states with the need for a federal government o Sovereignty supreme and final governing authority Federal government is sovereign over state government o Federalism the division of sovereignty between national and state governments Federal government needs to be able to o establish justice o insure domestic tranquility o provide for the common defense o secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity o Can a loose confederation of states or a single national government accomplish these ends by themselves Founders Debate o Alexander Hamilton for National Supremacy US needed to develop a national economy and conduct foreign affairs Government s powers should be broadly defined and liberally construed Easier for them to conduct business Allows for looser interpretation of Constitution Federalist view o Thomas Jefferson for States Rights Federal government was a part of agreement among states Government s powers should be narrowly construed and strictly limited States more powerful o James Madison in the middle Supported national government at Constitutional convention but came around to supporting states rights Enumerated Powers powers expressly granted to Congress o Found in Article 1 section 8 of Constitution o 17 total powers Supremacy Clause the laws of the US shall be supreme law of the land Necessary and Proper Clause congress can make laws in necessary and proper way to carry o Article 6 paragraph 2 o Federal law presides over state law them out o Article 1 section 8 paragraph 18 o Also known as elastic clause Stretches governments power for goal that is needed to achieve Government can do almost anything to accomplish goal in necessary and proper way o Source of implied powers powers not listed in the Constitution but related to those that are States Authority o Article 1 section 10 Prohibits states from Raising armies to only protect their state Making treaties Waging war Printing money Entering into commercial agreements with other states or countries without Congress approval o Reserved powers 10th amendment States have reserved powers not given to the federal government National Government Concurrent State Government Education Public safety Register voting Lend borrow money National defense Tax charter banks Post office Law enforcement Foreign affairs Transportation Interstate Commerce Intrastate commerce McCulloch v Maryland o 1819 o Federalism s 1st test o 1790 following advice of Hamilton Congress created National Bank Hamilton thought this fell under Congress s power to borrow money regulate commerce and coin money o State of Maryland tried to tax a branch of the Bank of the US o James McCulloch bank president refused to pay to the tax o John Marshall s decision addressed 2 questions Could Congress set up bank or any other corporation Congressional authority states if it s legitimate and appropriate than yes Could a Federal Bank be lawfully taxed by a state Federal authority was supreme since was established not by the state but by the people o States cannot use authority to tax federal government States Right and Nullification o Nullification states have a right to nullify a law they think violates the US Constitution 1st advanced by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Opposition was to a law permitting punishment of newspaper editor publishing Dual federalism the national and the state governments each have defined areas of authority stories criticizing the Federal government o Later advanced by John C Calhoun 1st opposition to federal tariff Later opposition to federal efforts to restrict slavery o Issue ultimately decided after civil war o Different and distinct o Especially over commerce o Prominent