“From 1827 to 1876, seven constitutions were drafted and ratified in Texas. Each one attempted to correct the perceived deficiencies of the previous political order and address the challenges of its time.”
This passage comes from the conclusion of the PDF you’ve read on Texas Constitutional History. Recall that the most fundamental idea of a constitution is that it’s a plan for defining, distributing, and limiting the powers of government. Use what you know about the U.S. Constitution and our state constitutions over the year to answer the following question:
What were the perceived deficiencies that the writers of the Texas Constitution of 1876 attempted to correct? What one word or short phrase would you suggest best describes their plan and the solutions it provided?
Please be sure to focus on specific attributes of the Texas Constitution of 1876 and seek to compare those attributes to other documents—either the U.S. Constitution or previous state constitutions. In your conclusion you might consider whether this approach is an improvement or a limitation in regards to meeting the purposes of government.
Your answers to the study questions will be incredibly helpful for this paper. This question absolutely requires attention to specific details.
If you write a response using only assumptions and vague patriotic ideas about how either the U.S. or the Texas Constitution works, you will not earn the points you need to do well on this assignment.
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Remember to approach this assignment as though it is a test essay.
Your response should be organized around a single sentence answer to the question in bold above (a thesis) and provide specific support for your answer. Your goal is to demonstrate what you have learned about how the current state constitution of Texas compares to other constitutional documents.
Notice that this advice tracks to the three categories on the rubric for this assignment:
Clear and specific answer
Organized and provides support
Demonstrates an understanding of Texas government and politics
link to readings: https://texasourtexas.texaspbs.org/the-eras-of-texas/civil-war-reconstruction/
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ruby-george-thompson
