State+Constitutions+and+the+Texas+Constitution

=**Power Points:**=



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=**Description**:=

In this section we look at the development of state constitutions in general and the Texas Constitution specifically. The constitutions of the original 13 states were based on charters granted each by the British government - often the monarch - while each was a colony. We will explore the similarities and difference of these and the influence these constitutions would have on the US Constitution in 1787. State Constitutions are far more detail oriented than the national constitution, which reflects their role in the federal system.

Texas, we will learn, went through multiple constitutions prior to the 1876 Constitution, and that document has been amended hundreds of times in the intervening years. We will walk through each of these Constitutions in order to understand what changes were made to each. We will also walk through the separate articles in the Texas Constitution so we can get a sense of its structure and what the document contains.

This section merely begins our look at the document. Some of these articles will be explored more fully in future sections since they relate to various aspects of Texas government.

=**Goals:**=

After reading through the material above, you should be able to address the following questions:

- What factors make state constitutions different than the US Constitution? What factors make them similar? - What types of charters were given to the different colonies? What were the key differences between them? - Be familiar with the different constitutions that governed Texas over the years. What makes the 1876 Constitution different than the previous ones? Why has it been amended so often? - What impact did Jacksonianism have on the Texas Constitution? - Be especially familiar with the rapid constitutional transitions that happened after the end of the Civil War. - Be able to identify and describe the different articles in the 1876 Constitution. What explains its basic design features?

=**Key Terms:**=

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