The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the Delegates of the People of Texas in General Convention at the town of Washington on the 2nd day of March 1836.
When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression.
When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated central military despotism, in which every interest is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood, both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the everready minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants.
When, long after the spirit of the constitution has departed, moderation is at length so far lost by those in power, that even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms themselves of the constitution discontinued, and so far from their petitions and remonstrances being regarded, the agents who bear them are thrown into dungeons, and mercenary armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the bayonet.
When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.
Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their acts to the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of our grievances is therefore submitted to an impartial world, in justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now taken, of severing our political connection with the Mexican people, and assuming an independent attitude among the nations of the earth.
The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution, that they should continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican government to which they had been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States of America.
In this expectation they have been cruelly disappointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in the late changes made in the government by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who having overturned the constitution of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative, either to abandon our homes, acquired by so many privations, or submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined despotism of the sword and the priesthood.
It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by which our interests have been continually depressed through a jealous and partial course of legislation, carried on at a far distant seat of government, by a hostile majority, in an unknown tongue, and this too, notwithstanding we have petitioned in the humblest terms for the establishment of a separate state government, and have, in accordance with the provisions of the national constitution, presented to the general Congress a republican constitution, which was, without just cause, contemptuously rejected.
It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our citizens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure the acceptance of our constitution, and the establishment of a state government.
It has failed and refused to secure, on a firm basis, the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen.
It has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources, (the public domain,) and although it is an axiom in political science, that unless a people are educated and enlightened, it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self government.
It has suffered the military commandants, stationed among us, to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyrrany, thus trampling upon the most sacred rights of the citizens, and rendering the military superior to the civil power.
It has dissolved, by force of arms, the state Congress of Coahuila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly for their lives from the seat of government, thus depriving us of the fundamental political right of representation.
It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens, and ordered military detachments to seize and carry them into the Interior for trial, in contempt of the civil authorities, and in defiance of the laws and the constitution.
It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by commissioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize our vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far distant ports for confiscation.
It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.
It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments.
It has invaded our country both by sea and by land, with intent to lay waste our territory, and drive us from our homes; and has now a large mercenary army advancing, to carry on against us a war of extermination.
It has, through its emissaries, incited the merciless savage, with the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the inhabitants of our defenseless frontiers.
It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with it, the contemptible sport and victim of successive military revolutions, and hath continually exhibited every characteristic of a weak, corrupt, and tyrranical government.
These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the people of Texas, untill they reached that point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been heard from the Interior. We are, therefore, forced to the melancholy conclusion, that the Mexican people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, and the substitution therfor of a military government; that they are unfit to be free, and incapable of self government.
The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees our eternal political separation.
We, therefore, the delegates with plenary powers of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare, that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to independent nations; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme arbiter of the destinies of nations.
Richard Ellis, President of the Convention and Delegate from Red River.
Charles B. Stewart
Tho. Barnett
John S. D. Byrom
Francis Ruis
J. Antonio Navarro
Jesse B. Badgett
Wm D. Lacy
William Menifee
Jn. Fisher
Matthew Caldwell
William Motley
Lorenzo de Zavala
Stephen H. Everett
George W. Smyth
Elijah Stapp
Claiborne West
Wm. B. Scates
M. B. Menard
A. B. Hardin
J. W. Burton
Thos. J. Gazley
R. M. Coleman
Sterling C. Robertson
James Collinsworth
Edwin Waller
Asa Brigham
Geo. C. Childress
Bailey Hardeman
Rob. Potter
Thomas Jefferson Rusk
Chas. S. Taylor
John S. Roberts
Robert Hamilton
Collin McKinney
Albert H. Latimer
James Power
Sam Houston
David Thomas
Edwd. Conrad
Martin Palmer
Edwin O. Legrand
Stephen W. Blount
Jms. Gaines
Wm. Clark, Jr.
Sydney O. Pennington
Wm. Carrol Crawford
Jno. Turner
Benj. Briggs Goodrich
G. W. Barnett
James G. Swisher
Jesse Grimes
S. Rhoads Fisher
John W. Moore
John W. Bower
Saml. A. Maverick (from Bejar)
Sam P. Carson
A. Briscoe
J. B. Woods
H. S. Kimble, Secretary
Friday, December 23, 2022
The States within the United States Constitutional System
- The Text of the United States Constitution.
Here are the parts that relate to the states:
Article One:
1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the elector in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.
2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.(The previous sentence was superseded by Amendment XIV). The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.
Section 3 - Senate
1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,) (The preceding five words were superseded by Amendment XVII) for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.
2. . . . if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
Section 4 - Times, etc., of holding elections
1. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have the power
3. To regulate commerce among the several states
4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States:
7. To establish post-offices and post-roads:
9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court:
15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions:
16. To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress:
17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings: And,
18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
Section 9 - Prohibited Powers
1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importations, not exceeding 10 dollars for each person.
2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
4. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. (Modified by Amendement XVI)
5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.
7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.
8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no person holding any office or profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Section 10 - States prohibited from the exercise of certain powers.
1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
2. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress.
3. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in a war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.
Article Two
Section 1- President:
2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.(The clause in italics was superseded by Amendment XII)
3. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.
4. No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.
Section 2 - President to be Commander-in-Chief
1. The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States
Article 3 - The Judiciary
Section 2 - Judicial power; to what cases it extends
1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more states, between a state and Citizens of another state, between Citizens of different states, between Citizens of the same state, claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign states, Citizens or subjects. (This section modified by Amendment XI)
2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before-mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Section 3 - Treason defined. Proof of. Punishment of.
1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
Article 4
Section 1 - Each State to give credit to the public acts, etc. of every other State.
Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Section 2 - Privileges of Citizens of each State. Fugitives from Justice to be delivered up. Persons held to service having escaped, to be delivered up.
1. The Citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of Citizens in the several states.
2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee justice, and be found in another state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
3. No person held to service or labour in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labour, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labour may be due.(This clause superseded by Amendment XIII)
Section 3 - Admission of new States. Power of Congress over territory and other property.
1. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state, nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of the Congress.
2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state.
Section 4 - Republican form of government guaranteed. Each State to be protected.
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union, a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.
Article 5 -
Constitution: how amended
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution, or on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which , in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress: Provided, that no amendment which may be made prior to the year 1808, shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Article 6 -
Certain debts, ect. declared valid, Supremacy of Constitution, treaties, and laws of the United States, Oath to support Constitution, by whom taken. No religious test.
1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this constitution, as under the confederation.
2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
3. The senators and representatives before-mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
Article 7 -
Ratification
The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution between the states so ratifying the same.
Amendments
X - Rights of the States under Constitution
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
XI - Judicial Powers Construed
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.
XII - Manner of Choosing a President and Vice-President
1. The Electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; - The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.(The words in italics were superseded by Amendment XX)
3. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such numbers be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
XIII - Slavery Abolished
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
XIV - Citizen rights not to be abridged
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
XV - Race no bar to voting rights
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
XVI - Income taxes authorized
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever sources derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
XVII - U.S. Senators to be elected by direct popular vote
1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislatures.
2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the Legislature of any State may empower the Executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct.
3. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
XVIII - Liquor Prohibition
1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the Legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
XIX - Giving nationwide suffrage to women
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
XXI - Repeal of Amendment XVIII
1. The Eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
XXIII - Presidential vote for the District of Columbia
1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress may direct:
2. A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
3. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
XXIV - Barring poll tax in federal elections
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or any other tax.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
XXVI - Lowering the voting age to 18 years
The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Land Speculation and the Development of the United States and Texas
- The Founders and the Pursuit of Land.
- Texas Filibusters.
- From Wikipedia: Coahuila y Tejas: Immigration and Slavery.
- TSHA: Surveying.
- TSHA: Land Speculation.
- The Texas General Land Office.
- Land Speculation as a Cause of the Texas Revolution.
- History of Texas Public Lands.
- Texas Filibusters.
- From Wikipedia: Coahuila y Tejas: Immigration and Slavery.
- TSHA: Surveying.
- TSHA: Land Speculation.
- The Texas General Land Office.
- Land Speculation as a Cause of the Texas Revolution.
- History of Texas Public Lands.
Indian Containment in Texas
Bullock State History Museum: American Indians.
__________
-Wikipedia: Native American tribes in Texas.
- What is a federally recognized tribe?
1 - being an American Indian entity since at least 1900
3 - holding political influence over its members
4 - having governing documents including membership criteria
5 - members having ancestral descent from historic American Indian tribes
6 - not being members of other existing federally recognized tribes
7 - not being previously terminated by the U.S. Congress.
- Historical tribes of Texas.
Adai people, formerly eastern Texas
Aranama,[12] formerly southeast
Biloxi, formerly Neches River in the 19th century,[15] now Louisiana
Caddo, formerly eastern Texas, now Oklahoma
Comanche, formerly north and west,[8] now Oklahoma
Coahuiltecan, formerly southern
Dotchetonne, formerly northeastern[26]
Escanjaque Indians, formerly north-central[27]
Jumano, formerly southwestern[28]
La Junta, formerly west
Karankawa, formerly south coast[29]
Kiowa, formerly panhandle,[8] now Oklahoma
Manso, formerly west[30]
Quems, formerly southwest[31]
Quicuchabe, formerly west[32]
Quide, formerly west[33]
Suma, formerly west, joined Apaches[34]
Teyas, Panhandle[35]
Tonkawa, formerly southeast,[8] now Oklahoma
Apache people, western Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma
- The three federally recognized tribes in Texas are:
Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas, originally from Tennessee and Alabama
Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas[3] originally from New Mexico.
__________
- Indian Reservations in Texas Today.
__________
- Texas Historical Commission: Tribal Contacts.
__________
- Wikipedia: Comancheria.
__________
- Wikipedia: Texas–Indian wars.
Thursday, December 22, 2022
Stephen Austin's [second] contract to bring settlers to Texas, 1825
If you are student in Texas, at some point you learned about Stephen F. Austin. Some claim him to be the "father" of Texas, whatever that means.
He is the person who negotiated the first contract with the newly established Mexican government tp bring American settlers into the northern part of Mexico. The area was undeveloped - despite Spain's being in the new world for 300 years - and dominated by the Plains Indians. Mexico was hoping to develop the area - specifically the parts close to the coast. It also hoped that the newly arrived settlers would take the lead in fighting back and containing native tribes.
Despite the focus on Stephen, the more interesting figure is his father Moses.
- Click here for his Wikipedia entry.
He was born in Connecticut in 1761 and moved often. His story is similar to that of many Americans born during the revolutionary era and sought opportunities westward. One of the reasons he did so was to escape debt, as did many others at the time. Prior to his interest in land and land settlement, among other things helped develop the lead industry in the United States.
- Stories from the Trail: The Austins, Lead, and the Father of Texas.
His pursuit of more lead mining opportunities took him to Spanish controlled Missouri in 1798, which eventually led to an agreement with Spain to receive a large land grant with the understanding that he would use it to entice three hundred families to move to Mexican Texas. He died before he could do so, and a revolution caused Spain to lose control of Mexico, which nullified the agreement.
His son Stephen pursued the effort and in 1822 signed the first in a series of contracts defining the terms of settlement. The contract below is the second. Despite its brevity, its the basis for some of the governing system that exists today. Let's walk through it and comment as we do so.
Click here for a look at the entire contract:
- Stephen Austin's contract to bring settlers to Texas, 1825.
Note that this is the second contract, I've yet to locate a digital copy of the first one. This gives us something to look at thought.
Here's a break down of it:
Outline:
Stephen F. Austin’s Second colony contract with permission to settle 500 Catholic families
[Villa de Austin], 4 June 1825.
Manuscript document signed, 2 pages + docket.
Conditions on which the Empresario Stephen F. Austin is authorised by the Govt
. of the State of
Cuahuila and Texas to Colonize 500 families on the vacant lands remaining within the limits of
the colony already established by kind, in the Department of Texas.
- Empresario.
- Coahuila y Tejas.
- Old Three Hundred.
1st The Govt
. admits the project prevented [presented?] by citizen Stephen F. Austin in his
representation of the 4th of February of the present year relative to the Colonization of 300
foreign Families so far as [inserted: is] in conformity with the Colonization Law passed by the
Legislature of this State 24th March last, and hereby designates in Conformity with the 8th
article of said Law, and arguably to his petition the vacant lands remaining within the limits
designated for the colony which he has already established excepting only 10 (ten) Leagues from
the Coast which cannot be colonized except with the previous approbation of the Supreme
Executive power of the Nation agreeably to the Law of the 18th [text loss]
- General Colonization Law.
- League.
[2nd] Possessions given to [text loss] titles within the limits designated shall be respected.
3d. In conformity with the said Law of Colonization of the [24th] March the said
Empresario Citizen Stephen F. Austin shal[l] be obliged to introduce the said families within the
term of 6 [text loss] Counting from the day on which these conditions are signed by the said
Empresario under the penalty of loosing the rights and benefits granted to him by the 8th Article
of the said Law.
- Timing of arrival
- How were people recruited and selected?
4th The families which are to compose this Colony besides being industrious as he offers in
his petition must be Cat[ho]lics, and of good morals proving these qualifications by the
documents required by the 5th Article of the said Law of Colonization of the 24th March.
GLC01160
- Catholic Church in Mexico.
- Religion in Early Texas.
5 He shall be obliged not to admit in the new Colony Criminals, Vagabonds, or Men of bad
Conduct or Character, and Cause such as are within his limi[ts] to leave it and should it be
necessary he shall drive them out by force of arms.
- Frontier Justice.
- Law Enforcement.
- Texas Rangers.
6th For this purpose he shall organize the new Colonists in a body of National Militia of
which he shall be the Chief until otherwise ordered.
[2]
- Texas Military.
7th As soon as he shall have introduced 100 families at least he shall notify the Govt
.
thereof in order that a Commissioner may be sent on with the Competent instructions to put the
new colonists in possession of their Lands and to establish Towns in Conformity with the Law.
- Land possession.
- Surveying.
- Municipal Incorporation.
8th Official Communications with the Govt. or with the authorities of the State, instruments
of writing and other public acts, must be written in Spanish, and when new Towns are formed it
shall be his duty to establish Spanish Schools in them.
- Official Language.
- Establishment of Schools.
9 It shall also be his duty to promote the erection of churches in said Towns and that they
are provided with ornaments, holy vases and other things necessary for divine worship and in the
proper time to solicit the necessary number of Pasters for the Administration of Spiritual affairs.
- Establishment of Churches
-
[10] In all ot[her] [text loss] and other general Laws.
The foregoing conditions were accepted and signed by the Empresario Stephen F. Austin
on the 4th of June 1825 on the 20th May 1825 the Governor of the State by an Official order
increased the number of Families to Five Hundred.
Popular Sovereignty - Dual Sovereignty - Tribal Sovereignty
What is sovereignty?
Britannica: . . . the ultimate overseer, or authority, in the decision-making process of the state and in the maintenance of order.
What is popular sovereignty?
Wikipedia: Popular sovereignty is the principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. Popular sovereignty, being a principle, does not imply any particular political implementation.[a] Benjamin Franklin expressed the concept when he wrote that "In free governments, the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns".
What is dual sovereignty?
LII - Dual Sovereignty Doctrine: where there are two sovereigns, there are two laws.
__________
For more:
Tribal Sovereignty: Tribal sovereignty in the United States is the concept of the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States.
Originally, the U.S. federal government recognized American Indian tribes as independent nations, and came to policy agreements with them via treaties. As the U.S. accelerated its westward expansion, internal political pressure grew for "Indian removal", but the pace of treaty-making grew nevertheless. The Civil War forged the U.S. into a more centralized and nationalistic country, fueling a "full bore assault on tribal culture and institutions", and pressure for Native Americans to assimilate.[3] In the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871, Congress prohibited any future treaties. This move was steadfastly opposed by Native Americans.[3]
Currently, the U.S. recognizes tribal nations as "domestic dependent nations"[4] and uses its own legal system to define the relationship between the federal, state, and tribal governments.
From NCSL: An Issue of Sovereignty: Tribal sovereignty refers to the right of American Indians and Alaska Natives to govern themselves. The U.S. Constitution recognizes Indian tribes as distinct governments and they have, with a few exceptions, the same powers as federal and state governments to regulate their internal affairs. Sovereignty for tribes includes the right to establish their own form of government, determine membership requirements, enact legislation and establish law enforcement and court systems.
Catching up on conflict between governments of Texas and the United States
Three stories from the Texas Tribune.
- A Texas superintendent ordered librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed books. Now the federal government is investigating.
Education and legal experts say the federal probe of the Granbury Independent School District — which stemmed from a complaint by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and reporting by NBC News, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune — appears to be the first such investigation explicitly tied to the nationwide movement to ban school library books dealing with sexuality and gender.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights notified Granbury school officials on Dec. 6 that it had opened the investigation following a July complaint by the ACLU, which accused the district of violating a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender. The ACLU complaint was based largely on an investigation published in March by NBC News, ProPublica and the Tribune that revealed that Granbury’s superintendent, Jeremy Glenn, instructed librarians to remove books dealing with sexual orientation and people who are transgender.
- Texas drops fight to prevent 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying handguns in public.
Texas will no longer fight to ban 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying handguns in public. A judge ruled earlier this year that a state law banning the practice was unconstitutional, and Texas initially filed a notice that it would appeal. But Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw withdrew the appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman’s ruling was the first major decision about Texas gun laws since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the Second Amendment protected individuals who carry weapons for self-defense.
In September, the state filed a notice of appeal, which angered gun rights activists.
The Supreme Court’s June decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen has caused a wave of gun control laws in various states to be challenged or struck down. In November, U.S. District Judge David Counts ruled that banning someone under a protective order from possessing a gun violated their Second Amendment rights, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The court said that the way that you’ve got to decide the constitutionality of modern-day gun laws … is not by looking at modern policy considerations, but rather looking at historical laws and trying to analogize specific legal traditions from a very different time and place,” Eric Ruben, an assistant professor of law at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, told The Texas Tribune last month.
“Based on the Second Amendment’s text, as informed by Founding-Era history and tradition, the Court concludes that the Second Amendment protects against” prohibiting young adults from carrying handguns, Pittman wrote in his August decision.
- Federal court ruling may prevent Texas teens from getting birth control without parental permission.
A federal court ruling Tuesday may make it nearly impossible for Texas teens to access birth control without their parents’ permission.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that Title X, a federal program that provides free, confidential contraception to anyone, regardless of age, income or immigration status, violates parents’ rights and state and federal law.
Kacsmaryk, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, is a former religious liberty lawyer who helped litigate cases seeking to overturn protections for contraception. Tuesday’s ruling is expected to be appealed.
Kacsmaryk did not grant an injunction, which would have immediately prohibited Title X clinics from providing contraception to minors without parental consent. Every Body Texas, the Title X administrator in Texas, said in a statement that it is awaiting additional guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on how to proceed. Title X clinics affiliated with University Health, in San Antonio, are still prescribing birth control without parental consent while they evaluate the ruling, spokesperson Shelley Kofler said.
The case was brought by Jonathan Mitchell, the former Texas solicitor general who designed the novel law that banned most abortions in Texas after about six weeks of pregnancy. Mitchell has also brought a lawsuit to block requirements in the Affordable Care Act that require employers to cover HIV prevention medications.
Mitchell is representing Alexander Deanda, a father of three who is “raising each of his daughters in accordance with Christian teaching on matters of sexuality, which requires unmarried children to practice abstinence and refrain from sexual intercourse until marriage,” according to the complaint.
Deanda does not want his daughters to be able to access contraception or family planning services without his permission, arguing that Title X’s confidentiality clause subverts parental authority and the Texas Family Code, which gives parents the “right to consent to … medical and dental care” for their children.
Territorial Development of Texas
How did Texas attain its current borders?
- Wikipedia: Spanish Texas.
- Wikipedia: Adams - Oniz Treaty.
- Wikipedia: Mexican Texas.
- Wikipedia: Coahuila y Tejas.
- Wikipedia: Santa Anna, Central Republic, 1835.
- Wikipedia: Centralist Republic of Mexico.
- Timing of the various rebellions against the central Mexican state in the 1830s and 1840s.
- Map of the Republic of Texas.
- From Wikipedia: Republic of the Rio Grande.
- A Map of the United States of Mexico, 1846.
- Mexican Cession
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
- From Wikipedia: Plan of San Diego.
- Current Borders of Texas.
- Annexation History - Planning and Development Department - City of Houston.
Outline - ACC GOVT 2306
- What is Power?
- Why do you have to take this class?
- No Really . . . why do you have to take this class?
- Who is in charge? Divine Right vs. Popular Rule.
- Popular Sovereignty - Dual Sovereignty - Tribal Sovereignty.
- Constitutions, Charters, Statutory Code, etc . . .
- The First Virginia Charter 1606.
- European Powers in North America.
- The Indian Wars.
- Stephen Austin's contract to bring settlers to Texas, 1825.
- Manifest Destiny.
- Territorial History of the USA: Every Month for 400 Years.
- Territorial Development of Texas.
- Political Culture.
- Land Speculation and the Development of the United States and Texas.
- Indian Containment in Texas.
- From the constitutional convention - May 29: The deficiencies of the confederated system.
- The Federal System.
- The States within the United States Constitutional System.
- The Texas Declaration of Independence.
- Similarities and Differences between the United States and Texas Constitutions.
- The Constitutions of Texas.
- The 1876 Texas Constitution.
- Amendments to the 1876 Texas Constitution.
- The Current Texas Constitution.
- The Texas Statutory Code.
- The Stages of Federalism and the ongoing conflict between the United States and Texas Governments.
- The National Powers and the Prohibited Powers to the States.
- Labor, Slavery, and Peonage in Texas.
- Indian Removal in Texas.
- Laws related to Women, Children, Families, and Marriage.
- The Civil War Amendments and Reconstruction.
- The Equal Protection Clause - Impact on Texas.
- The Elastic Clauses - Impact on Texas.
- State Sovereign Immunity.
- The United States and Texas Bills of Rights.
- The First Cities in Texas.
- The development of local governments in the United States and Texas.
- Dillon's Rule and State Preemption.
- Texas Constitution, Article 9: Counties.
- Texas Association of Counties.
- Texas Constitution, Article 11: Municipal Corporations.
- Texas Local Government Code.
- Municipal Codes of Ordinance.
- What are Single Purpose Governments?
- Texas Constitution, Article 2: The Separated Powers and the Checks and Balances.
- Texas Government Code.
- Texas Administrative Code.
- The Legislative Power.
- Article 3: The Texas Legislature.
- Political Parties in the Texas Legislature.
- The 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature.
- The Bill Making Process in Texas.
- The Appropriations Bill.
- The Texas Budget Process.
- The Texas Fiscal Size-Up.
- The Executive Power.
- Texas Constitution, Article 4: The Texas Executive.
- The Texas Plural Executive.
- The Powers of the Governor.
- The Texas Bureaucracy.
- Fiscal Size-Up: Areas of Expenditure.
- The Local Bureaucracy.
- The Judicial Power.
- Texas Constitution, Article 5: The Texas Judiciary.
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
- Code of Criminal Procedure.
- Civil Practices and Remedies Code.
- Penal Code.
- Municipal Courts.
- Elections in Texas.
- Texas Constitution, Article 6: Suffrage.
- Electoral Rules.
- Gerrymandering in Texas.
- Campaigns in Texas.
- Campaign Finance in Texas.
- Civil Rights and Suffrage in Texas.
- Slavery, Black Codes, Jim Crow.
- The Voting Rights Act and Shelby County v Holder.
- Texas Election Code.
- Chief Elections Officers of the State and County.
- Political Parties in Texas.
- Interest Groups in Texas.
- Texas Ethics Commission.
- What is Public Policy?
- Tax Policy in Texas.
- The Police Powers.
- Education Policy in Texas.
- Health and Human Services Policy in Texas.
- Business and Economic Development Policy in Texas.
- Natural Resources Policy in Texas
- Regulatory Policy in Texas.
- Local Policy across Texas.
Manifest Destiny
A few notes on the rapid expansion of Anglo power across North America, and the world.
Definitions:
Wikipedia: Manifest Destiny.
- The special virtues of the American people and their institutions
- The mission of the United States to redeem and remake the West in the image of the agrarian East
- An irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty
Historians have emphasized that "manifest destiny" was always contested; many endorsed the idea, but the large majority of Whigs and many prominent Americans (such as Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant) rejected the concept.[7][8][9] Historian Daniel Walker Howe writes, "American imperialism did not represent an American consensus; it provoked bitter dissent within the national polity while the Whigs saw America's moral mission as one of democratic example rather than conquest.[3][10] The term was used by the then-Democrats in the 1840s to justify the Mexican–American War, and it was also used to negotiate the Oregon boundary dispute. Historian Frederick Merk says manifest destiny always limped along because of its internal limitations and the issue of slavery, and never became a national priority of the United States.[3] By 1843, former U.S. President John Quincy Adams, originally a major supporter of the concept underlying manifest destiny, had changed his mind and repudiated expansionism because it meant the expansion of slavery in Texas.
. . . Six years later, in 1845, O'Sullivan wrote another essay titled Annexation in the Democratic Review,[20] in which he first used the phrase manifest destiny.[21] In this article he urged the U.S. to annex the Republic of Texas,[22] not only because Texas desired this, but because it was "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions".[23] Overcoming Whig opposition, Democrats annexed Texas in 1845. O'Sullivan's first usage of the phrase "manifest destiny" attracted little attention.[24]
O'Sullivan's second use of the phrase became extremely influential. On December 27, 1845, in his newspaper the New York Morning News, O'Sullivan addressed the ongoing boundary dispute with Britain. O'Sullivan argued that the United States had the right to claim "the whole of Oregon"
-
Let's walk through the process:
- The Origins of Colonial America - Dates of establishment of colonies.
From the Houston Chronicle: Some of the priciest real estate in Houston can be found in tiny tracts used for roads and drainage
A look at local government, and one of its basic features: infrastructure maintenance. Since this can often involve the use of privately owned land, conflicts can develop regarding access to that land. Cities can claim eminent domain to gain access to privately owned land if doing so benefits the general public. Depending on need, the price of the of access can be driven up considerably.
That's the subject of the story below.
For more, here os some info related to
- right of way easements.
- neighbor law.
- Click here for the article.
In the last five years, Houston has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to improve its aging street infrastructure, and in the process, created some of the most expensive real estate in the city.
Since 2018, Houston has spent more than $15 million on easements, buying directly from residents or through lawsuits, for more than 50 street, water line and drainage projects.
The cost of doing business as a city varies significantly when it comes to purchasing easements. Some were all but free at less than $1 per square foot; others were higher than $1,000 per square foot, data show.
The most expensive one was 153 square feet of land on West Bellfort in southwest Houston, obtained last year through a lawsuit for a street widening and drainage project. The price tag: $1,450 per square foot, totaling $222,000.
In another case in 2018, Houston spent $129,000 for about 112 square feet of grass next to a residence on Hicks Street, south of the Heights, for a paving and drainage project. That worked out to $1,154 per square foot.
Many such easements were in the range of several hundred dollars per square foot, including a 253-square-foot parcel next to a gas station on South Braeswood in southwest Houston. The owner received $111,500, or about $441 per square foot.
. . . The power for the government to take private property for public use — even without the owner’s consent — is a right that has been recognized for centuries, according to Rusty Adams, a research attorney at Texas A&M University's Texas Real Estate Research Center.
The government is required to justly compensate a resident for the land, and the property owner is entitled to due process under the law. There is, however, room for disagreements on what constitutes a fair payment, Adams said.
When a government fails to reach an agreement with a property owner over an easement purchase, it can take the owner to court through the condemnation process, where the price will be decided by a judge.
A little more than a third of the easements the city acquired in the last five years were obtained through condemnation, data show. Those, on average, cost twice the price of easements purchased directly from residents.
“The big stick that the government has is that if they want to take it, they can, as long as the court approves it,” Adams said. “And one of the arrows in the landowner’s quiver is the delay and expense of litigation for the government.”
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
The specific charges against Trump
You can find these on the report from page 78 through 85.
- Click here for it.
I. Obstruction of an Official Proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)) [page 78]
II. Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371) [Page 80]
III. Conspiracy to Make a False Statement (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001) [Page 82]
IV. “Incite,” “Assist” or “Aid and Comfort” an Insurrection (18 U.S.C. § 2383) [Page 83}
__________
For more on 18 U.S.C., click here.
Title 18 of the United States Code is the main criminal code of the federal government of the United States.[1] The Title deals with federal crimes and criminal procedure. In its coverage, Title 18 is similar to most U.S. state criminal codes, which typically are referred to by such names as Penal Code, Criminal Code, or Crimes Code.[2]
- Click here for it.
I. Obstruction of an Official Proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)) [page 78]
II. Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371) [Page 80]
III. Conspiracy to Make a False Statement (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001) [Page 82]
IV. “Incite,” “Assist” or “Aid and Comfort” an Insurrection (18 U.S.C. § 2383) [Page 83}
__________
For more on 18 U.S.C., click here.
Title 18 of the United States Code is the main criminal code of the federal government of the United States.[1] The Title deals with federal crimes and criminal procedure. In its coverage, Title 18 is similar to most U.S. state criminal codes, which typically are referred to by such names as Penal Code, Criminal Code, or Crimes Code.[2]
From the Texas Tribune: Texas elections secure despite COVID-related “irregularities” in 2020, audit finds
I suppose this finally conclude the 2020 election.
The principle take-away is that the election was run well and there were no egregious problems with how the counties handled it - despite claims to the contrary.
Among other things, the story illustrates the following terms and concepts in your textbook:
- voter fraud
- audit
- counties
- Secretary of State John Scott
- chief election official
- Texas Election Code
- election security
- Texas Legislature
- Senate Bill 1
- Harris County elections administrators
- oversight
- Gov. Greg Abbott
- secretary of state
- Texas Senate.
- Click here for the story.
- Click here for the report referred to in the article.
Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was neither widespread voter fraud nor other serious issues in Texas’ 2020 elections, according to an audit of four of Texas’ largest counties released Monday evening by Secretary of State John Scott’s office.
“When the Texas Election Code and local procedures are followed, Texas voters should have a very high level of confidence in the accuracy of the outcome of Texas elections,” the report stated. “When procedures are followed, results of the election are trustworthy. Indeed, in most cases, the audit found that the counties followed their procedures and clearly documented their activities.”
Monday, December 19, 2022
Two from Democracy Docket:
1 - How Gerrymandering Helped Republicans Win the House.
At the start of the 118th U.S. Congress in January 2023, Republicans will hold 222 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Democrats will hold 213 — one of the closest House margins in years. Had Democrats won just five more seats, they would have retained a bare House majority and full control of Congress.While keeping the House margin so narrow represents something of an unprecedented success for Democrats, it’s important not to lose sight of the impact that the decennial redistricting process had on this outcome. Republicans spent much of 2021 and 2022 enacting new maps to give themselves an electoral advantage, and this year’s midterms were the first elections held under the new district lines. Though it’s impossible to know for sure what would have happened under a different set of maps, it’s entirely plausible that Republicans only won the House thanks to gerrymandered maps in the following states — and a few helpful assists from the courts.
2 - The Purcell Principle’s Big Year.
This year, different courts found new redistricting maps in states like Alabama and Georgia likely illegal. Yet, those unfair maps were in place for the 2022 midterm elections. The challenged provisions of Florida’s voter suppression law also remained enacted for the midterms.
In numerous consequential cases this year — in many of which, the impact on voters and democracy cannot be understated — judges at all levels of the federal judiciary relied on a vague and shifting legal principle to maintain an anti-democratic status quo. This principle is called the Purcell principle, which emerged in 2006 from a six-page U.S. Supreme Court order.
On Oct. 20, 2006, weeks before the midterm elections, the Supreme Court reinstated Arizona’s restrictive citizenship law that had been blocked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Purcell v. Gonzalez. The Supreme Court’s order was limited in part because it surfaced on the Court’s “shadow docket,” where emergency requests do not undergo full briefing or oral argument. The unanimous order hinged on the fact that the 9th Circuit, in an unexplained decision, did not give appropriate deference to the district court. (Fact finding takes place at the lowest court level — in federal courts, those are U.S. district courts — and appellate courts can review those decisions.)
Yet, the significance of Purcell’s short “shadow docket” order lies not in the main holding, but in other language. The Court wrote: “Court orders affecting elections, especially conflicting orders, can themselves result in voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls. As an election draws closer, that risk will increase.”
In those 31 words, the Supreme Court unleashed an “anti-confusion” concept that, specifically in the past two years, has spiraled out of control. The Purcell principle was only cited a few times by the highest court in the following decade after it was first noted. The COVID-19 pandemic and the flurry of election law changes it engendered before the 2020 election breathed new life into the undefined concept. In 2022, a shallow invocation of “confusion” has been used to uphold gerrymandered maps and unconstitutional voting restrictions across the country.
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