Example Of USA And Texas Constitutions Essay

The purpose of this paper is to compare the Constitution of the United States of America and the State of Texas, find and analyze similarities and differences that exist between these two documents.
While reading these two legal documents one cannot but notice the similarity of used vocabulary and style of writing. In the preambles of the both constitutions, there is an emphasis on the public will that established these documents. However, in the Texas Constitution, there also is a religious motive, as the people of Texas are “humbly invoking the blessings of Almighty God” (The Preamble).
Apart from the vocabulary, the similarity of the constitutions is reflected in the content of some articles. For instance, both constitutions have articles that describe powers and rights of three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. Nonetheless, the difference is into the scope these powers. While the Constitution of the USA describes the powers of the federal government (Congress, the President, and Supreme Court), the Texas constitution focuses on the state government. Besides, both constitutions establish the ways of amending the document, thus, taking into account that existing editions may be imperfect and the subjects to change.
However, even the superficial study of the documents reveals a lot of differences. First, the size of constitutions differs. The Constitution of the USA is a short, concise, cohesive document with the logical structure and fundamental clarity. It is easy to comprehend, even though sometimes the vocabulary and grammar seem outdated. It has undergone only 27 amendments – the fact that shows the progressiveness of its writers. Meanwhile, the Constitution of Texas is clumsy, unwieldy construction of the human mind, consisting of 281 pages, that makes it one of the longest state constitutions. 483 amendments to the Constitution were approved by the electorate of Texas. It is organized in lengthy articles, sometimes loosely connected with each other. For instance, Article 16 is called “General Provisions” and includes sections on miscellaneous topics, such as an official oath (Section 1), regulation of the livestock (Section 23), bribery issues (Section 41), and terms of office (Section 64). At the same time, the 10th Article of the Texas Constitution is wholly focused on the Railroads and consists of only one section. Such a convoluted organization of the document makes it hard to comprehend.
Besides the structure of the document and its scope and length, the Texas State Constitution is characterized by some specific articles. One example of railroads has been already mentioned. Another example is 14th Article that contains only one section and establishes General Land Office where all the land titles have to be registered.
One last point that I want to discuss in my essay regards one section of the 1st Article of the Texas State Constitution. Section 4 deals with the issue of religious tests and seems to be in line with the United States Constitution (Article 6). However, in the Texas State Constitution we read that no one can be excluded from holding office, “provided he acknowledges the existence of a Supreme Being.” Thus, Section 4 excludes atheists from holding the public office.