Chapter 2.6: Constitution of 1866
Overview
Texas Government: Constitution of 1866
Constitution of 1866
The Constitutional Convention of 1866, in addition to other actions in compliance with presidential Reconstruction, proposed a series of amendments to the fundamental law, which came to be known as the Constitution of 1866. The governor’s term was increased to four years and his salary from $3,000 to $4,000 a year. He was prohibited from serving more than eight years in any twelve-year period. For the first time the governor was given the line-item veto on appropriations. He was empowered to convene the legislature at some place other than the state capital should the capital become dangerous “by reason of disease or the public enemy.” The comptroller and treasurer were elected by the voters to hold office for four years.
The Senate was set to number from nineteen to thirty-three members and the House from forty-five to ninety; legislators were required to be white men with a prior residence of five years in Texas. Terms of office were to remain the same as before, but salaries of legislators were raised from three dollars a day to eight dollars, and mileage was increased to eight dollars for each twenty-five miles. A census and reapportionment, based on the number of white citizens, was to be held every ten years.
The Supreme Court was increased from three judges to five, with a term of office of ten years and a salary of $4,500 a year. The chief justice was to be selected by the five justices on the court from their own number. District judges were elected for eight years at salaries of $3,500 a year. The attorney general was elected for four years with a salary of $3,000. Jurisdiction of all courts was specified in detail. A change was made in the method of constitutional revision in that a three-fourths majority of each house of the legislature was required to call a convention to propose changes in the constitution, and the approval of the governor was required.
Elaborate plans were made for a system of internal improvements and for a system of public education to be directed by a superintendent of public instruction. Separate schools were ordered organized for black children. Lands were set aside for the support of public schools, for the establishment and endowment of a university, and for the support of eleemosynary institutions. The legislature was empowered to levy a school tax. An election in June ratified the proposed amendments by a vote of 28,119 to 23,400; the small majority was attributed to dissatisfaction of many citizens with the increase in officials’ salaries.
Readng Review Questions
- What were the two primary changes made to the constitution when it was revised in 1861?
- What changes were made to the public school system with the adoption of the 1866 constitution?
For More Information
For More Information
More information on the Constitution of the State of Texas (1866) may be found at the Texas Constitutions 1824-1876 project of the Tarlton Law Library, Jamail Center for Legal Research at the University of Texas School of Law, The University of Texas at Austin.
The project includes digitized images and searchable text versions of the constitutions.