CHAPTER 2
Study Guide To Go
Learning Objectives
1.
Identify provisions of the U.S. Constitution concerning limitations on the states and
guarantees to the states.
2.
Identify provisions of the U.S. Constitution concerning interstate relations and state
immunity.
3.
Identify some of the reserved powers of the states.
4.
Describe federal-state relations as an evolving process.
5.
Describe the historical developments under which each of Texas’s seven constitutions was
written, especially the Constitution of 1876.
6.
Identify some recent constitutional amendment proposals.
7.
Trace the steps in the constitutional amendment process from legislative action to
gubernatorial proclamation.
8.
List the principal events involved in the unsuccessful constitutional revision efforts in Texas
between 1971 and 1975.
9.
Describe constitutional revision attempts by John Montford, Bill Ratliff, and Rob Junell in
the 1990s.
10. Describe some attempts at constitutional reform through piecemeal constitutional
amendments.
11. Summarize important provisions of the Texas Bill of Rights.
12. Summarize provisions of the Texas Constitution for: the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches of state government; suffrage; and local governments.
13. Suggest important provisions that you believe should be included in a new Texas
Constitution.
14. Explain the role of language in the struggle for Texas independence.
15. Discuss the circumstances surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court’s action striking down
school prayer at high school football games in Santa Fe, Texas.
Federalism and the Texas Constitution
I.
The American Federal Structure
A.
Distribution of Powers
1. Delegated and Implied Powers
2. Limitations on the States
3. Guarantees to the States
B. Interstate Relations and State Immunity
C. State Powers
D. Federal-State Relations: An Evolving Process
The Texas Constitution: Politics of Policymaking
A. Historical Developments
1. The First Six Texas Constitutions
2. Drafting the Constitution of 1876
3. Distrust of Government and Its Consequences
B. Today: After More Than a Century of Usage
III. Constitutional Amendments and Revision
A. Constitutional Revision
B. The Revision Efforts of the 1970s
C. Recent Revision Attempts
D. Piecemeal Revision and Turnout for Voting on Amendments
IV. The Texas Constitution: A Summary
A. The Bill of Rights
1. Arbitrary Governmental Actions
2. Criminals and Victims
3. Equal Rights for Women
4. Additional Protections
5. Philosophical Observations
B. The Powers of Government
C. Suffrage
D. Local Governments
E. Other Articles
II.
Overview of the Text (pp. 56-83)
The current Texas Constitution was adopted more than 130 years ago. With many amendments
since 1876, it continues to be a primary source of the state government’s policymaking power.
The other major source is membership in the Federal Union.
The American Federal Structure (pp. 57-63). The American federal system involves a division
of powers between the national and state governments. The national supremacy clause of the
U.S. Constitution stipulates that state constitutions are subject to the U.S. Constitution, and state
judges are bound by provisions of that document and by the laws and treaties of the national
government. Article IV of the U.S. Constitution includes a list of guarantees to the states (for
example, territorial integrity, protection against invasion and rebellion, a republican form of
government, and equal representation in the U.S. Senate). Also included in this article are
provisions concerning relations among states (such as equal privileges and immunities to be
recognized for each other’s citizens, full faith and credit to be given to each other’s public acts
and records, and extradition of fugitives who flee from one state to another).
The men who wrote the U.S. Constitution sought to establish machinery for a workable and
enduring balance of powers between the national government in Washington and the state
governments. Nevertheless, maintaining the Federal Union is an evolving process. Through
grants of money, the national government has induced the states to participate in many of its
programs.
The Texas Constitution: Politics of Policymaking (pp. 64-71). Texans have been governed
under seven constitutions. The Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas, which was promulgated in 1827,
marked Texas’s first experience with a state constitution. In 1836, Texans declared its
independence from Mexico, adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, and voted to join
the United States. A new state constitution was written in 1845 and approved by Texas voters in
1846 at the same time that they voted to accept a U.S. congressional invitation to join the Federal
Union. Three more state constitutions were adopted during the 1860s, when Texas cast its lot
with the Confederate States of America (1861), sought reinstatement in the Federal Union (1866),
and conformed to the Reconstruction program of the Radical Republicans (1869).
Drafted in the summer of 1875 and adopted in 1876, the current Texas Constitution reflects the
slogan of “retrenchment and reform” that was voiced by its framers. They were determined to
undo the Reconstruction policies and create a government with strictly limited power. Because of
its restrictiveness and detail, more than 400 amendments have been added.
These numerous amendments have caused the Texas Constitution to become excessively long,
badly organized, structurally confusing, and unduly detailed. Although some amendments
concern constitutional issues of fundamental importance, others deal with matters that should be
resolved by statutory law. As a result, large numbers of qualified voters do not bother to vote on
proposed amendments.
Constitutional Amendments and Revision (pp. 72-78). Proposal of an amendment requires a
joint resolution, which must be approved by two-thirds of the membership of each house of the
Texas Legislature. Adoption is achieved by a simple majority vote by the electorate in a regular
or special election.
There have been unsuccessful efforts in the Texas Legislature to propose a constitutional
amendment that would authorize initiative and referendum procedures, which are used in several
other states. The initiative process permits individuals and groups to submit proposed laws and
constitutional amendments to a direct popular vote, whereas a referendum allows them to
challenge and overturn laws passed by state legislatures.
There have been several attempts to revise the Constitution of 1876. The most important effort
involved an amendment, adopted in 1972, establishing a six-member study committee. This
committee appointed the 37-member Constitutional Revision Commission that produced a draft
proposal for a new constitution, in which the Bill of Rights would remain unchanged. The
proposal was considered in 1974 by the 63rd Legislature, sitting as a constitutional convention.
After the convention failed by three votes to approve a proposed constitution, the 64th Legislature
submitted a new constitution to Texas voters in the form of eight separate propositions, or
amendments. In an election held on November 4, 1975, all of these propositions were rejected by
overwhelming majorities. In 1999, Senator Bill Ratliff and Representative Rob Junell introduced
their draft of a proposed constitution in the 76th Legislature. It was not given serious
consideration, but piecemeal revision by amendment has continued.
The Texas Constitution: A Summary (pp. 78-83). There are 17 articles in the Texas
Constitution. Included in Article I, the Bill of Rights, are guarantees of freedom of speech, press,
religion, assembly, and petition. These freedoms are also protected by the Bill of Rights of the
U.S. Constitution, but the Texas Constitution is more protective of some rights. The three
branches of government are the subjects of Article III (legislative), Article IV (executive), and
Article V (judicial). Article VI concerns voting and elections. It establishes voter qualifications,
provides for voter registration, and governs the conduct of elections. Various articles, including
Article IX (counties) and Article XI (municipalities) provide for the structures and powers of
units of local government. Special districts are authorized by an amendment added in 1904. The
nine remaining articles are titled Education, Taxation and Revenue, Railroads, Private
Corporations, Spanish and Mexican Land Titles (text deleted by an amendment), Public Land and
Land Office, Impeachment, General Provisions (the longest article, which covers miscellaneous
subjects), and Mode of Amendment.
Looking Ahead (p. 83). In November 2006, Texas voters elected a Republican governor and
Republican majorities for the state House of Representatives and Senate. Will this
Republican leadership attempt to give Texans an opportunity to adopt their eighth state
constitution?
Overview of the Selected Readings
“The American Tradition of Language Rights: The Forgotten Right to Government in
a ‘Known Tongue’” by José Roberto Juárez, Jr. (pp. 88-91)
Among Texians’ complaints against the Mexican national government was its refusal to split
Texas and Coahuila into two states and to provide public services accessible to monolingual
English speakers. Mexico’s central government made some concessions but not enough to satisfy
the Texians. In 1834, Mexico established the Department of the Brazos. It also made efforts to
increase access to the judicial system for English-only speakers. This included requirements that
criminal trials should be conducted in the language of the accused (for speakers of English or
Spanish), that jurors with appropriate language skills be sought, and that trial records for appeals
of cases conducted in English could be translated into Spanish at the expense of appellants.
Nevertheless, Texians declared independence from Mexico in March 1836. Almost immediately,
the Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos approved a motion to have the new Constitution of
the Republic of Texas and its laws translated into Spanish. Furthermore, Tejanos were recognized
as citizens and the government of the Republic respected their language rights.
“They Haven’t Got a Prayer” by Pamela Colloff (pp. 91-93)
High school football and prayer came together in the small Texas City of Santa Fe, leading to a
U.S. Supreme Court battle over the limits of school district involvement in prayer at public school
events. Ultimately, a majority on the country’s highest court condemned the practice of a student
delivering prayer over a loudspeaker prior to kickoff. Six of the justices decided such an
observance went beyond exercise of free speech and constituted a state endorsement of religion
that violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Although voluntary, student-led prayer
continues at Santa Fe’s high school, the battle over pre-game prayer showed how divisive a
religious observance in the public forum could be.