The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845.
On March 2, 1836, Texas declared itself an independent republic[1] because of a lack of support in the United States for the Texas Revolution.[2] The declaration of independence was written by George Childress[3] and modeled after the United States Constitution. Lorenzo de Zavala helped in the drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas by personally designing its flag and serving as vice president.
A copy of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas was included with the declaration of independence. The constitution borrowed language from the US Constitution and the constitutions of several southern states.[1] It formed a unitary republic, rather than the federal republic as defined in the US Constitution.[1] The President of the Republic of Texas had a three-year term and could not serve another consecutive term, which was based on provisions in the Mexican Constitution.[1] The Texas Constitution also protected the right to own slaves and prohibited "Indians" and "Africans" from living freely in the country or from becoming Texan citizens.[4]
- ^ a b c d Fehrenbach 1968, p. 222.
- ^ Fehrenbach 1968, p. 237.
- ^ Fehrenbach 1968, p. 223.
- ^ Republic of Texas 1836, pp. 1–23.