...the best way possible. A Representative democracy is a system that allows all eligible citizens to vote on the representatives that will pass laws for them once they are in office. Representative democracy is being practiced in Texas by allowing Texas citizens to vote and elected the people that they want to represent them. By voting every time there is an election we have the power to decide which individual will represent us in the Texas democracy. We can elect local and state officials that listen to the population and do what best for us as a whole. Texas consists of two institutions of representative democracy and serve Texas are the Texas legislature and the Texas executive. So what is the legislature? The legislature make laws for the state that will benefit and become a better and safer place for all the people that live in it. The Texas is institutionalize party of the people representatives. This varies throughout the fifty states because some states legislature are highly professional. When something is institutionalize it means it has laws, a code of conduct, its work is routinized, bureaucratize, it is open and transparent. It is the value of the people’s representatives and represent us, you and me. On average the members of the Texas legislature represent one hundred and fifty thousand persons so the ratio of this would be one representative to one hundred and fifty Texans. These representatives have to get to know the people, talk to them and listen to their...
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...The Law of the Land, According to Texas Federalism is defined as a system of government where power is divided by a constitution, between local government and federal government. Under this rationale of governing, power and authority are designated such that each unit (state and federal) has exclusive authorities only it can exercise while other powers are required to be shared. Though Texas has its own constitution separate from that of United States, the supremacy clause prevents the Texas constitution from over ruling the US constitution and its laws. As the supremacy clause is defined in Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, it is the supreme law of the land and shall prevail over any conflicting state laws or as it relates to Texas any state issued constitutions. With over 93,000 words, 16 articles, 474 amendments resulting in 6 total constitutions, no other state within the US is structured and run so similarly to that of the US government. For example Texas has a clearly defined separation of power where no one branch of government shall be attached to either of the other branches (with the exception of the lieutenant governors role in the Senate. In 1866 after the civil war Texas was back in the Union and many actions were taken to bring the state into compliance with President Johnsons’ policy of reconstruction. At this time Texas did not adopt the 13th amendment that abolished slavery. In 1869, Under the Congressional Reconstruction Act of 1867...
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...The Texas Constitution 1 Why the Texas Constitution Matters • The Texas Constitution is the legal framework within which the government works • Rights guaranteed in the Texas Constitution go beyond those of the U.S. Constitution • The length and detail of the Texas Constitution make the amendment process central to the political process 2 The Role of a State Constitution • State constitutions perform a number of important functions – Establish political institutions and explain the source of their power and authority – Delegate powers to particular institutions and individuals and define how they are to be used – Protect against the concentration of political power in one institution or individual – Define the limits of political power 3 The Role of a State Constitution: Influence of U.S. Constitution • Texas’s constitution is heavily influenced by the U.S. Constitution – Political power is derived from the people – Both constitutions feature a separation of powers • Legislative, executive, and judicial branches – A system of checks and balances limits the powers of each branch, as a way to protect against tyranny – Certain individual rights must not be violated 4 The Role of a State Constitution: How U.S. Constitution Is Different • The idea of federalism is also embodied in the constitutions of the U.S. and Texas • Important differences distinguish the two – Supremacy clause: the U.S. Constitution and federal laws...
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...federal government into three branches. These branches are the legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch has two houses, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. The executive branch is the president and his or her cabinet and staff. The executive branch also includes the staff of all of the government departments and agencies....
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...Entry 1: In chapter thirteen we cover the work of our highest government official – The President. As President of the United States of America, it is an honor, as well as a vital role in our country. There are many challenges that the President may face, and with these challenges, he/she has a whole form of government behind them. The President also holds many powers, these powers are categorized and can be expressed as delegated, expressed, military, judicial, diplomatic, executive and legislative powers. Each of these powers are to be performed and used under the circumstances regarding each. There are differences regarding the United States President’s powers and those of France, Germany, and South Africa. For example, France has a semi-presidential executive system and Germany and South Africa both have parliamentary executive systems. Entry 2: In chapter fourteen, we talk about the bureaucracy in a democracy. A bureaucracy can be defined as one in which is less than an organization. Another way to term bureaucracy is that the...
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...Dictator Power is a figurative quality associated with wealth, worth and control. Since 1974, a well paid salary and a four-year term has been given to the Texas Governor, who is seen as a very powerful person but in reality is a weak one. A big argument in Texas is if the Governor should have more power over Texas, but this would only cause the state unnecessary problems. Powers of The Governor The Governor of Texas has both informal and formal powers that cover a variety of things. A Texas governor is said to be someone who must use the power of persuasion, media and personality in order to effectively govern the state. People believe that the Texas Governor is a very strong official, but compared to other governors around the nation and the importance of the people working with him, it’s truly a weak one. The 1876 Constitution created a plural executive structure in which the governor is but one of several elected officials who share power in the executive branch, limiting the power of the governor. All executive officers are elected independently except for the Secretary of State, making them directly answerable to the public not the Governor. If the Governor can’t hire or fire his subordinates, then he has less or no control over them. Power is highly decentralized and spread out to several different officials, which prevents the governor from having too much power. For instance the lieutenant governor, who heads the Senate and appoints its committees, has more power than...
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...Texas first Constitution, which was established in 1836, was called the Republic of Texas. The present constitution is called the State of Texas and was established in 1876. Texas Constitution changed five times in between that time. The current Texas Constitution has sixteen articles such as article II, the powers of government, article VII, education, and article XVI, general provisions. Some of these articles have cut the powers of government, limited the governor’s term to two years, added a debt ceiling of $200,000, and set fixed salaries for state officials. Details about policies and avoiding abuse of government powers included into the new constitution made the document long and disorganized. So what exactly is a constitution? A constitution is the basic law of a...
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...2306: Texas Government Review Sheet for Exam 1 ------------------------------------------------- Spring 2016 The purpose of this review sheet for Exam 1 is to provide you with guidance over key terms and concepts. Please note that some of the terms may or may not appear on the exam. In addition, this review sheet is not exhaustive-some concepts and terms not appearing herein may appear on the exam. Chapter 1: Texas Culture and Diversity * Political Culture (definition) * Political Ideology (definition and types, which ideology dominates Texas?) * Conservative * Liberal * Political subcultures (definition, which type(s) do we see in Texas? give examples of policies each type would support) * Moralistic * Individualistic * Traditionalistic * Partisanship * Minnie Fisher Cunningham and the Woman’s Suffrage Movement * The 19th Amendment * Marital Property Act * White Primary * Ku Klux Klan (KKK) * NAACP * LULAC * Smith v. Allwright (1944) * Sweatt v. Painter (1950) * Brown v. Board of Education (1954) * Separate-but-equal doctrine (Plessy v. Ferguson) * United States v. Texas (1970) * Hector Garcia and the American GI Forum * Hernandez v. Texas (1954) * Hernandez v. Driscoll CISD (1957) * Lawrence v. Texas (2003) * The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) * Cultural diversity in Texas and its impact on Texas’s future (demographics, ethnic groups in Texas, important...
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...In the textbook, Lone Star Politics, it states that “Texans distrust the executive authority” (156) and that cannot be any truer. This distrust began since the experiences of the American colonists under the rule of the British King and result to that was most states in America had fragile executives so they gave the power to the legislative branch. It’s embedded in the history of Texas where the residents lack faith in the Texas government. But as the years went by, the state grew the power of the governor and gave him/her the extent to do more, but that still didn’t change the fact that they weren’t up to date on “modern Texas” (156-157) Since the early statehood of Texas, it has been governed by a numerous amount of male figures. The state has had around forty-eight governors since the beginning of Texas government, like James Pinkney Henderson as the first governor to the present time of modern Texas, Gregory W. Abbott....
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...The Texas Land Commissioner Texas government is known for following the plural executive system. An executive official in the committee is the Texas Land Commissioner. The Texas Land Commissioner performs majority of their duties at the General Land Office in Austin, Texas. The TLC has many duties such as managing assets, controlling staff at the General Land Office(GLO), chairing varieties of boards, and advising the Texas governor on land issues found through research and study conducted by the GLO. I will explain the roles and duties as well as the current office holder of the Texas Land Commissioner. First, one might ask what is a land commissioner? A land commissioner is one of many executive positions that serves in the Texas government....
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...The Texas Constitution divides power between separate branches the executive branch, judicial branch, and the legislative branch. In order to pass legislation in Texas, the bill must pass through the Senate and the House. The bill is referred to a House Committee Speaker and the Senate Committee Lt. Gov. to be amended. If the bill passes the committee the bill goes to calendars committee for the House and must be agreed on by third fifth’s vote of the Senate to send the bill to the floor for debate. The Bill is then brought to the House floor for debate to be amended. If the bill passes by the majority vote it is sent to the house or senate. Therefore, the bill must first be agreed upon and amended by speaker and Lt. Gov. before any further action. So, when the bill is unable to be agreed upon it causes conflict for the entire committee and legislator. Other parts play a role in what legislation is passed such as the Legislative caucus and the plural executive. The Legislative caucus attempt to promote legislation that endorses their goals. The plural executive limits the power of the Governor by distributing it to the chief executive and elected political leaders. Therefore, many key parts play into passing legislation but Texas needs both the Lt. Gov. and Speaker of the house to help pass...
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...1. The three branches of U.S. government are legislative, executive and judicial. For each of these, name the highest level of organization that acts for that branch and give a BRIEF description for each of that branch’s/organization’s function. a. Legislative: Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. They’re function is to vests power to legislate in the Congress of the United States. b. Executive: President; He/ she carries out federal laws and recommends them as well. He/ she is also able to veto and pass bills as a check and balance. c. Judicial: The Supreme Court; they’re power is to provide supreme judicial review for the nation and provides checks and balances for the other branches. A main priority for the Court is determining if something violates the Constitution. 2. Each of these branches is independent of the others (separation of powers) and are part of a system of checks and balances. Briefly explain what this means. a. Each branch of government has their own roles and functions, however in order to make sure that the American people are represented fairly and the best decisions for the country are made, each branch of government has a way to counteract another branch’s decision in order to check what they are doing and potentially counteract it and act as a balance 3. By what authority does a president issue an executive order? a. Executive orders do not require Congress’ consent in order to take effect. 4. The other...
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...The history of Texas dates back thousands of years with Native American and Indian tribes but the true evolutionary period for the state began in the early 1500s when the Spanish founded the so-called new land and began sending Spanish conquistadors to explore the region. Although they had discovered Texas in 1519 and claimed rule around that time, it was not until the late 1600s that Spaniards actually began to reside in Texas. Just as Spaniards began to settle in Texas, in 1685 a French explorer was searching for the mouth of the Mississippi river to establish a colony of nearly four hundred people when he accidentally landed in Texas and founded a colony near present day Victoria, Texas. This led to the French having control over Texas...
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...explanations for why Texas executes far more people than any other state and is doing so at a pace that has no parallel in the modern era of the death penalty in the U.S. What follows is a summary of the analyses. Texas has become ground zero for capital punishment. Between 1976 (when the Supreme Court lifted its prohibition on the death penalty) and 1998 Texas executed 167 people. Next in rank was Virginia which executed 60 during the same period. (**my note** as of today, Texas has executed 237 individuals, and Virginia has executed 80) Why do capital murder cases proceed through the Texas state court system with a speed unimaginable in other parts of the country? Brent Newton, in an article entitled "Capital Punishment: Texas Could Learn a Lot from Florida,"1argues that there are three procedures unique to the state's judicial system that enable it to execute convicted murderers with astonishing frequency: 1. Texas' appellate judges are elected to office and hence serve according to the pleasure of the public. Not surprisingly, they require a record of toughness on criminals in order to win re-election. Also, there are many indications that elected appellate judges generally are of a lesser quality than their appointed counterparts in other states. Newton even claims that these elected judges do not carefully consider the complexities of each specific death penalty case. As evidence, Newton argues that "[e]specially during the past few years...the Texas Court of Criminal...
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...Chapter 1 – The political culture, people, and economy of Texas According to the move, Texas is such a big state, land wise, that it is large enough to be divided into five different states. The demographic in each region of Texas is quite different depending on which part of the state you end up in. According to our book, Texas is the second-largest state in the nation and has four distinct geographical regions: the Gulf Coastal Plains, the Interior Lowlands, the Great Plains, and the Basin and Range Province. First there is West Texas which has nothing but “flat ranches”. Then there is Houston which is close to the coast which there are a lot of industries along, so it was labeled as the “carcinogenic cost”. Next up was Dallas which is in...
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