List Of Constitutions Of TexasEdit
Texas’s constitutional history is a continuous effort to balance popular governance with constraints that keep spending, power, and policy from spiraling out of control. From the days when Texas was a Mexican province through the era of an independent republic and into its current status as a U.S. state, each constitution has been a statement about how much government Texans want and how carefully that government should be limited. This article lists the major constitutions that have governed Texas and highlights their core principles, the circumstances of their passage, and their lasting legacies.
Texas’s constitutional tradition is not just a sequence of legal texts; it is a record of political philosophy in action. Proponents of limited government argue that Texas’s long-standing preference for straightforward, transparent rules helps protect taxpayers, lower the cost of government, and empower local control. Critics often say the later constitutions are too unwieldy or too protective of particular interests. In the Texas story, the tension between ambition for a capable state and the desire to restrain state power has produced a distinctive constitutional culture that remains central to how Texas governs today.
Constitutions in Texas history
Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas (1827)
As part of the Mexican federation, Texas was governed under the constitution of Coahuila y Tejas beginning in 1827. This arrangement created a federal-style system within a centralized empire, distributing authority between the state and national levels while recognizing local governance structures. The framework emphasized property rights and local sovereignty within the larger Mexican political order, setting a pattern of constitutionalism that would reappear in later Texan arrangements. The experience of governing under a multi-ethnic, federal system would later influence Texans’ appetite for self-government and formal limits on state power. See Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas.
Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836)
Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836 and adopted its own Constitution for the newly formed Republic of Texas. This framework established a republican government with a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, a charter designed to protect individual rights, and a government structure intended to help Texas meet external threats and internal governance challenges as an emerging nation. It reflected a belief in restraints on power, while arming the new republic with the means to defend its borders and manage its affairs. See Constitution of the Republic of Texas.
Texas Constitution (1845) upon statehood
When Texas joined the United States in 1845, it retained a state-level constitutional framework appropriate for a state in the Union but aligned with American federal principles. The 1845 Texas constitution maintained a strong legislature and a constitutionally limited executive, while continuing to protect private property rights and basic civil liberties. It also codified fiscal prudence and debt limits in a way that reflected a concern for sustainable governance as Texas integrated into the U.S. system. See Texas Constitution (1845).
Texas Constitution (1861) during the Civil War
With secession and alignment with the Confederacy, Texas adopted a 1861 constitution designed to support the war effort and the political order of the Confederate states. This document reaffirmed the protection of slavery as part of the legal framework and reorganized state government to prioritize military and wartime needs. The 1861 constitution is a clear example of how extraordinary political pressures can reshape constitutional design, often at the cost of broader civil rights protections that later reforms would readdress. See Texas Constitution (1861).
Texas Constitution (1866) during Presidential Reconstruction
After the Civil War, Texas adopted a constitution in 1866 as part of Presidential Reconstruction. This period sought to restore the Union and align state law with federal constitutional requirements, often expanding civil rights and reorganizing state authority to reflect new national priorities. The 1866 document moved toward greater centralization in some areas, while the broader political question of how much to centralize versus localize authority remained hotly debated. See Texas Constitution (1866).
Texas Constitution (1869) during Radical Reconstruction
During Radical Reconstruction, Texas produced a more expansive and centralized constitution intended to secure federal objectives and enfranchise newly freed people. The 1869 constitution expanded state power in several directions, created new offices, and imposed strong directional controls on policy and public finance as part of the broader effort to reshape the state’s political economy in the postwar era. This period is frequently cited in debates over the proper balance between federal oversight and state sovereignty. See Texas Constitution (1869).
Constitution of 1876 (the current Texas Constitution)
The 1876 Constitution was born of a political reaction to the perceived excesses of Reconstruction, with a deliberate design to curb centralized power and to place guardrails around taxation, debt, and public policy. It established a plural executive to prevent concentration of power, imposed detailed limits on spending, and created a framework that emphasizes local control—especially at the county and municipal levels. The 1876 document is unusually long and complex, in part because it was written to be difficult to amend. Its drafters sought to protect taxpayers, promote fiscal discipline, and preserve broad legislative and local autonomy from the center. Over the ensuing decades, Texans have amended the document hundreds of times to address modern needs—education funding, property taxation, regulatory regimes, and public services—without abandoning its core discipline on state power. See Constitution of 1876.
Current debates about the Texas constitution focus on whether the 1876 framework remains fit for the 21st century. Critics argue that the document’s depth and rigid amendment process slow reform and contribute to a mismatch between state power and modern policy needs. Proponents, by contrast, insist that the constitution’s careful checks and its protection of local control and taxpayer interests provide a stable governance foundation that resists episodic overreach. The ongoing conversation about reform often centers on whether to modernize the amendment process, streamline provisions that duplicate statutes, and adjust fiscal rules without sacrificing the safeguards that have defined Texas governance for more than a century. See Texas Constitution and Amendments to the Texas Constitution.