HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1-1 WHEREAS, The year 2001 marks the quasquicentennial of the
1-2 Texas Constitution, and the 125th anniversary of this foundation
1-3 document is indeed worthy of special recognition; and
1-4 WHEREAS, On August 2, 1875, Texas voters approved the calling
1-5 of a convention to write a new state constitution; the convention,
1-6 held in Austin, began on September 6, 1875, and adjourned sine die
1-7 on November 24, 1875; then its draft was ratified in a statewide
1-8 referendum on February 15, 1876, by a vote of 136,606 to 56,652;
1-9 and
1-10 WHEREAS, The more than 90 delegates to the 1875
1-11 Constitutional Convention were a diverse group--most were farmers
1-12 and lawyers; some were merchants, editors, and physicians; some
1-13 were legislators and judges; some had fought in the Civil War
1-14 armies of the South as well as of the North; at least five were
1-15 African-American; 75 were Democrats; 15 were Republicans; and 37
1-16 belonged to the Grange, a non-partisan and agrarian order of
1-17 patrons of husbandry; one delegate had even served nearly four
1-18 decades earlier as a delegate to the 1836 Constitutional
1-19 Convention; and
1-20 WHEREAS, The Constitution of 1876, a richly detailed
1-21 instrument, reflects several historical influences; the Spanish and
1-22 Mexican heritage of the state was evident in such provisions as
1-23 those pertaining to land titles and land law, as well as to water
1-24 and mineral law, and remains evident in judicial procedures,
2-1 legislative authority, and gubernatorial powers; and
2-2 WHEREAS, Sections aimed at monied corporate domination
2-3 together with protection of the rights of the individual and others
2-4 mandating strong restrictions upon the mission of state government
2-5 in general and upon the role of specific state officials grew out
2-6 of the Jacksonian agrarianism and frontier philosophy that first
2-7 infused the thinking of many Texans during the mid-1800's; and
2-8 WHEREAS, Other sections, such as those providing for low
2-9 taxation and decreased state spending, were aimed at creating a
2-10 government quite different from the centralized and more expensive
2-11 one that had existed under the Constitution of 1869, which was
2-12 itself a product of the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era in Texas;
2-13 and
2-14 WHEREAS, Notwithstanding its age, Texas voters have been
2-15 reluctant to replace this charter, which is the sixth Texas
2-16 constitution to have been adopted since independence from Mexico
2-17 was gained in 1836; and
2-18 WHEREAS, The Constitution of 1876 has been the organic law of
2-19 Texas for 125 years, and this document, which still bears the
2-20 imprint of the region's long and dramatic history, has had--and
2-21 continues to have--a profound influence on the development of the
2-22 Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
2-23 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas,
2-24 Regular Session, 2001, hereby commemorate the quasquicentennial of
2-25 the Texas Constitution.
Shields
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 319 was adopted by the House on May
25, 2001, by a non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 319 was adopted by the Senate on
May 26, 2001, by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________________
Date
__________________________
Governor