Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Purposes of Constitutions
1. Legitimacy
Where political power comes from
What it may be used for
Same basic purposes at BOTH federal & state levels! Texas Constitution, Preamble
Constitutionalism
English Constitutionalism
Magna Carta (1215)
securing feudal rights against royal power
+ various other documents & traditions
Shared history
Colonial charters
Royal grants allowing colonies to establish govts
Looked to for limiting British interference
! State traditions of written constitutions
King John agrees to uphold the rights of his barons
State Constitutions
Can delegate power EITHER via the state constitution or state law
State Constitutions
Traditional distinction
Constitutions govern governments
set down rules & procedures for decision-making
Deciding how to decide
(not making the decisions themselves)
U.S. Constitution
18th Amendment: Prohibition
(Repealed by 21st Amendment)
Other attempts: Corwin Amendment (1861)
To forbid Congress from interfering w/ the domestic institutions of the states
State Constitutions
3. Limitations on Debt
Balanced budget requirements
Constitutionally mandated debt limits
State Constitutions
ADVANTAGES
1. Details bind govt officials & limit power
Fewer opportunities for abuse
2. Possibly requires less interpretation
But NOT if the constitution gets unwieldy!
DISADVANTAGES
1. Details bind govt officials & limit power!!!
Rigidity & lack of flexibility
2. Used to entrench policy beyond normal political process
State Constitutions
Changing a Constitution
U.S. Constitution
Amended 27 times (book says 77 WRONG!!!)
(Only 1 deals w/ regular legislation & policy)
Most amendments:
Fundamental changes to govt structure &/or powers
e.g.
1. Protecting rights
2. Expanding the electorate
3. Altering relationship b/t electorate & elected officials
4. Expanding & limiting govt power
State Constitutions
Texas Constitutions
Why so many?
1845---Annexation & statehood
1861---Succession
1866---Lost the war between the states
1869---Required for re-admission to the Union
1876---Enacted shortly after return of Democratic rule
Current constitution!
Structural similarities
3 branches executive, (bicameral) legislative, & judicial
Separate powers among branches
Limited govt:
Through written provision
Through institutional checks
U.S. Constitution
Rarely changed
Widely acknowledged as the Supreme law of the land
Often cited as a source of authority & a moral touchstone
Viewed by many as sacred & inviolable
Symbol taken up from all sides