Constitution of the Republic of Texas

The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845.

On March 2, 1836, Texas declared itself an independent republic due to a lack of support from the United States in their revolutionary movement. The declaration of independence was written by George Childress. It was modeled after the one written by Thomas Jefferson with alterations to better fit the current situation.

A copy of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas was included with the declaration of independence. The constitution borrowed language from the U.S. Constitution along with the constitutions of several southern states. It formed a unitary republic, rather than a federal one as defined in the U.S. Constitution.Presidential terms were established at three years and they could not succeed themselves, modeling after provisions in the Mexican Constitution. The constitution also protected the right to own slaves and prohibited "Indians" and "Africans" from living freely in the country and from becoming Texan citizens.

A constitutional convention began following the declaration of independence and an interim government was put into place. The convention adopted a document on March 16, 1836 and adjourned on March 17, 1836. Following the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto on April 22, 1836, war with Mexico was over. When June came around, the Republic of Texas had de facto independence as they were unrecognized by Mexico, but Mexico was unable to bring an end to the republic. Interim President Burnet on July 23, 1836 called for elections, ratifying the constitution, and answering if Texas should pursue annexation into the United States, to occur on the first Monday of September. Following the September elections, the constitution was ratified, Sam Houston was elected President with Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar as his Vice President. Seeking annexation was favored.

On March 1, 1845, the U.S. enacted a congressional joint resolution proposing the annexation of Texas to the United States (Joint Resolution for annexing Texas to the United States, J.Res. 8, enacted March 1, 1845, 5 Stat. 797). On June 23, 1845, the Texan Congress accepted the U.S. Congress' joint resolution, and consented to President Jones' calling of a convention to be held on July 4, 1845. A Texas convention debated the annexation offer and almost unanimously passed an ordinance assenting to it on July 4, 1845. The convention debated through August 28, and adopted the Constitution of the State of Texas on August 27, 1845. The citizens of Texas approved an annexation ordinance and new constitution on October 13, 1845. On December 29, 1845, the United States admitted the State of Texas to the Union (Joint Resolution for the admission of the state of Texas into the Union, J.Res. 1, enacted December 29, 1845, 9 Stat. 108).

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