Why the Texas State Constitution was Rewritten
Damian Ramirez
Dr. A. Ogundele
March 17, 2014
Government 2306 SY1
Why the Texas state constitution was rewritten.
In Texas during the reconstruction period following the civil war, a convention was held in order to rewrite the state constitution. This new constitution greatly increased the power that was held by the state and state official subsequently weakening local governments a reducing their power. When reconstruction was coming to an end, democrats gained control of the state and decided to change the constitution once again. In Austin (1875) , 90 people the majority of which were democrats, Held another convention to revise the constitution to return a balance of power to the Lone Star State.
The constitution in 1869, was not liked by the public mostly for its conflict ions with the states political culture. This constitution gave to much power to the state government. The Governor was given a term of four years and, extensive appointing abilities. It restricted state legislature to meeting only once per calendar year. And being as the majority of power was held by the state, local governments were extremely powerless. These were some reasons that majority of people disliked this constitution.
The constitution in 1876 was a reaction to the previous constitution. One of those reactions was a lessening of the Governors power, this was achieved by reducing the length of his term to only 2 years, and also reducing his salary. They also lessened his appointing power by deciding it between other elected officials (lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, and land commissioner).
The reduction of state official’s salaries, caused the officials to enter office for things other than money. This saving also increased the amount of money to be allocated to the local governments. Shorter terms also allowed for more variety in the styling of officials. This kept officials from becoming too comfortable and not pushing for immediate
Dr. A. Ogundele
March 17, 2014
Government 2306 SY1
Why the Texas state constitution was rewritten.
In Texas during the reconstruction period following the civil war, a convention was held in order to rewrite the state constitution. This new constitution greatly increased the power that was held by the state and state official subsequently weakening local governments a reducing their power. When reconstruction was coming to an end, democrats gained control of the state and decided to change the constitution once again. In Austin (1875) , 90 people the majority of which were democrats, Held another convention to revise the constitution to return a balance of power to the Lone Star State.
The constitution in 1869, was not liked by the public mostly for its conflict ions with the states political culture. This constitution gave to much power to the state government. The Governor was given a term of four years and, extensive appointing abilities. It restricted state legislature to meeting only once per calendar year. And being as the majority of power was held by the state, local governments were extremely powerless. These were some reasons that majority of people disliked this constitution.
The constitution in 1876 was a reaction to the previous constitution. One of those reactions was a lessening of the Governors power, this was achieved by reducing the length of his term to only 2 years, and also reducing his salary. They also lessened his appointing power by deciding it between other elected officials (lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, and land commissioner).
The reduction of state official’s salaries, caused the officials to enter office for things other than money. This saving also increased the amount of money to be allocated to the local governments. Shorter terms also allowed for more variety in the styling of officials. This kept officials from becoming too comfortable and not pushing for immediate