Deck 2: The Texas Constitution

Question 1

Which is a true statement about the powers of the national government?

A) The only powers of the national government are those specifically stated.
B) The amount of power the national government has exercised has grown over the last 200 years as a result of the "necessary and proper clause."
C) Powers are determined by the supremacy clause.
D) Powers of the national government are equal to the powers of the state governments.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

________ dominated the secession convention of 1861.

A) Landowners and cattlemen
B) Lawyers and slaveholders
C) Supporters of Governor Sam Houston
D) Supporters of the Union

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements about the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1865 is FALSE?

A) Texas had to accept the abolition of slavery.
B) Texas had to repudiate the war debt incurred by the state.
C) Texas had to return to the federal government parts of Oklahoma seized by Texas Confederate soldiers.
D) The state had to formally reject the right of secession.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Texas has operated under how many constitutions?

A) 5
B) 6
C) 7
D) 8

Question 5

Which provision of the 1836 Constitution was the most important adaptation of Spanish-American Law for the Texas Republic?

A) the idea of community property
B) a bicameral legislature
C) a four-tiered judicial system
D) a system of checks and balances

Question 6

Which of the following ideas does NOT unite the U.S.and Texas constitutional experiences?

A) Political power in both the United States and Texas is derived from the people.
B) Political power is divided by both the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitutions into three separate parts and placed in separate branches of government.
C) The idea of individual rights.
D) The subordinate role that Texas has in the federal system.

Question 7

The Constitution of Reconstruction created

A) a strong governor's office.
B) strong local government.
C) a unicameral legislature.
D) the election of judges.

Question 8

The Reconstruction governor who initially refused to leave office after being ousted by voters was

A) Richard Coke.
B) Edmund J. Davis.
C) John S. "Rip" Ford.
D) A. J. Hamilton.

Question 9

The main problem that stalled the admission of Texas into the United States was

A) the lack of enough people in Texas.
B) Texas's overly large debt, which would have to be assumed by the federal government.
C) that Texas would be a proslavery state.
D) that foreign nations had refused to recognize an independent Texas.

Question 10

What does the Texas Constitution contain that the U.S.Constitution does not?

A) Bill of Rights
B) separation of powers
C) supremacy clause
D) equal rights amendment

Question 11

The system of distributing powers between states and a central government is called

A) federalism.
B) separation of powers.
C) constitutionalism.
D) filtration.

Question 12

Texas became an independent republic in ________ and became part of the United States in ________.

A) 1827; 1861
B) 1827; 1869
C) 1836; 1845
D) 1845; 1876

Question 13

Which of the following is a function of a state constitution?

A) to ensure the safety of its citizens by building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border
B) to concentrate power in the executive branch
C) to set the proper tax rates for state and county authorities
D) to forbid certain government actions by establishing civil liberties

Question 14

Who were the Radical Republicans?

A) those Republicans who proposed to write a new U.S. constitution in the late 1990s
B) those Republicans after the Civil War who controlled Reconstruction policy in the former Confederate states
C) the first Republicans since Reconstruction in Texas to win elected office during the 1960s
D) followers of the pro-Union governor Sam Houston

Question 15

The Texas Constitution of 1869 was created

A) because Texas needed a new constitution when it joined the Confederacy.
B) by members of the Texas Republican Party.
C) in order to limit the power of state government.
D) as a reaction against Reconstruction.

Question 16

The domination of Texas politics by Republicans after the Civil War ended

A) with the election of governor Richard Coke in 1873.
B) with the victory of the Populist Party in 1892.
C) in 1888, with violent riots by farmers in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.
D) through a peaceful transfer of power in 1900.

Question 17

Which statement best describes the post-Civil War governorship of E.J.Davis?

A) Davis was a Democratic Confederate sympathizer who frequently clashed with the federal Congress.
B) Davis tried to return Texas to independence rather than reenter the Union after the Civil War.
C) Davis was a Republican who used the centralized powers of the governorship to maintain control over his regime.
D) Davis sought to decentralize government in Texas, moving toward a policy of home rule.

Question 18

Article VI of the U.S.Constitution contains the

A) supremacy clause.
B) separation of powers clause.
C) necessary and proper clause.
D) delegate powers.

Question 19

Which of the following was NOT part of the annexation agreement between Texas and the United States?

A) Texas could divide itself into as many as five separate states.
B) Texas was responsible for paying all foreign debts it incurred while independent.
C) Texas could maintain its own army and navy for 25 years.
D) Texas would retain title to its public lands.

Question 20

The current Texas Constitution borrowed all of the following from the Constitution of 1827 EXCEPT

A) the establishment of Catholicism as the state religion.
B) a guarantee of citizens' rights to liberty, security, property, and equality.
C) the curtailment of the spread of slavery.
D) the legislature's order to promote education.

Question 21

In what year was Texas's current constitution ratified?

A) 1828
B) 1845
C) 1876
D) 1846

Question 22

Discussion of the judicial department is in Article ________ of the Texas Constitution.

A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5

Question 23

The drive to rewrite the Texas Constitution in the 1970s grew out of

A) a major stock fraud involving bribery of several elected officials, state party officials, and bankers.
B) bitter politics coupled with the intense demands of highly mobilized special interests.
C) Sharpstown State Bank swindling National Bankers Life Insurance Corporation for millions of dollars.
D) Sharpstown State Bank's involvement in the bribery of several state judges.

Question 24

Which of the following statements about republican government is INCORRECT?

A) The right to republican government is not guaranteed in the Texas bill of rights.
B) Republican government is part of a system of representative democracy.
C) Under a representative government, power derives from the people.
D) The Texas Constitution gives the people a right to reform or to abolish their government.

Question 25

Who made up the Grange,and what effect did they have on the writing of the Texas Constitution?

A) They were a consortium of railroad entrepreneurs who wanted a constitution that would aid business interests.
B) They were a group of pro-Union Republicans who controlled the state after the Civil War.
C) They were an agricultural group who wanted a government that would improve the plight of farmers.
D) They were early wildcatters who wanted land grants from the state so they could explore for oil.

Question 26

The Texas Constitution requires which of the following for amendment?

A) a two-thirds vote in both houses of the state legislature and a majority vote from the voters of Texas
B) only a majority vote from the voters of Texas
C) the governor's signature
D) a two-thirds vote in county conventions convened for the purpose of amending the constitution

Question 27

Which article of the Texas Constitution discusses free public education?

A) 3
B) 4
C) 5
D) 7

Question 28

The Texas Constitution is

A) a tightly argued, brief document of general principles.
B) a long, complex, and detailed document.
C) difficult to amend, compared to the U.S. Constitution.
D) an economic treatise disguised as a blueprint for government.

Question 29

What was Texas's most progressive constitution in terms of power and organization?

A) the Constitution of the Republic of Texas
B) the "statehood constitution" of 1845
C) the Civil War Constitution of 1861
D) the Constitution of 1869

Question 30

What is the major difference between the bill of rights in the Texas Constitution and the U.S.Bill of Rights?

A) There is no bill of rights in the Texas Constitution.
B) The Texas Constitution grants Texans rights that are not found in the U.S. Constitution.
C) The Texas bill of rights is far less detailed than the federal Bill of Rights.
D) The Texas Constitution has no specific rights for those accused of crimes.

Question 31

Which of the following was NOT a goal for those writing the Texas Constitution of 1876?

A) to restrict the government's ability to get into debt
B) to limit the ability of the government to impose taxes
C) to check the powers of the governor
D) to give independence to the judiciary by making all judges appointed instead of elected

Question 32

Which statement best describes the structure of the Texas legislature?

A) Since independence from Mexico, Texas has had a bicameral legislature.
B) Texas's first unicameral legislature was established while the state was a member of the Confederacy.
C) Texas has always had a unicameral legislature.
D) Texas created the idea of a unicameral legislature.

Question 33

The Texas Constitution of 1876 was written to

A) prevent a direct reflection of the difference in its framers' underlying goals.
B) overcome the liabilities of the Articles of Confederation.
C) create a government that could act effectively in the public welfare in a variety of policy areas.
D) prevent the expansion of governmental authority that was perceived as acting against the interest of the people.

Question 34

The Mexican War of Independence against ________ grew out of the ________.

A) Spain; Napoleonic Wars
B) France; French Revolution
C) Spain; U.S. War of Independence
D) the United States; U.S. War of Independence

Question 35

Under the Texas Constitution,who has the power of impeachment?

A) The House of Representatives has the power to impeach, while the Senate has the power to try and convict.
B) The Senate has the power to both impeach and convict.
C) The House of Representatives has the power to impeach, while the state supreme court has the power to try and convict.
D) Texas has no constitutional provisions for impeachment.

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT found in the Texas bill of rights?

A) guarantees of equal treatment under law
B) guarantees of no religious tests for officeholders
C) the right to employment
D) the right to trial by jury

Question 37

In addition to the preamble and appendix,how many articles are contained in the Texas Constitution?

A) 10
B) 17
C) 27
D) 24

Question 38

Which principle of government is the key to understanding the drafting of the Texas Constitution of 1876?

A) the need for governmental subsidy and regulation of economic growth
B) the importance of civil right protections for African Americans and Latinos
C) the necessity of strong limitations on the authority of state officials
D) the value of states' rights

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a reason for low voter turnout for constitutional amendments?

A) Most amendments are relatively insignificant for most voters.
B) Many amendments are not controversial.
C) Negative advertising in the media has had the effect of alienating possible voters.
D) Elections for amendments are held in "off" years, when no candidates are on the ballot.

Question 40

The Texas Constitutional Convention of 1974

A) had delegates selected from the public by popular vote.
B) was composed of members of the Texas House and Legislative Council.
C) adopted a proposed constitution by a two-thirds vote.
D) failed to agree on a proposed constitution.

Question 41

One of the major issues of the Civil War was how the federal system was to be understood.

Question 42

Under the Texas Constitution,it is unconstitutional to impeach elected officeholders.

Question 43

The first federal constitution that Texas operated under was the British constitution.

Question 44

The Texas Constitution of 1876 was designed to limit the power of government,especially of the governor's office.

Question 45

There are rights guaranteed to Texans in Article 1 of the Texas Constitution that go far beyond those of the U.S.Constitution.

Question 46

Conservative rancher/banker Dolph Briscoe was the first governor in the history of the state not to receive a majority of the popular vote.

Question 47

The Texas Constitution of 1869 was written by members of the Republican Party,including ten African Americans.

Question 48

The U.S.Supreme Court in Texas v.White et al.(1869)ruled that Texas did secede from the union.

Question 49

One of the most important differences between the Texas Constitution and the U.S.Constitution is the need for voter approval for amendments to the Texas Constitution to take effect.

Question 50

The Texas Constitution creates two top appellate courts,one for civil cases and one for criminal cases.

Question 51

The state of Texas has had three constitutions in the course of its history.

Question 52

The Texas Constitution created a unicameral legislature.

Question 53

There have been no serious attempts in recent years to change the Texas Constitution.

Question 54

Texas has a bill of rights containing more liberties than those found in the U.S.Bill of Rights.

Question 55

The Constitution of 1866 did not exclude former secessionists from voting.

Question 56

The current Texas Constitution has been amended more than 400 times.

Question 57

The Constitution of 1866 granted the governor a line-item veto on appropriations.

Question 58

The Texas Constitution became a place where special interests could seek to promote and protect their own agendas.

Question 59

The Texas Constitution created a plural executive,consisting of multiple elected executive officers.

Question 60

There are rights guaranteed to Texans in Article 1 of the Texas Constitution that go far beyond those of the U.S.Constitution.

Question 61

What are some of the key similarities and differences between the Texas Constitution and the U.S.Constitution?

Question 62

The drive to rewrite the Texas Constitution grew out of a major stock fraud that broke in the early 1970s involving the Sharpstown State Bankers Life Insurance Corporation.

Question 63

The Texas Constitution makes no requirements for the establishment and upkeep of a public school system.

Question 64

There have been several calls to revamp the Texas Constitution.What has been the rationale for significant changes to the Texas Constitution? Describe the attempt in the mid-1970s to change it.Why did the attempt fail?

Question 65

How does Texas's mistrust of government and resistance to change manifest itself in the current constitution? How does this conflict with the political preferences for limited government?

Question 66

Describe the particular historical condition under which the Constitution of 1876 was drafted.What were some of the main principles behind the Constitution of 1876? What are some of the most important aspects of the constitution that reflect the political philosophy of its framers?

Question 67

Explain the historical influences,similarities,and differences among Texas's first six constitutions.