This was the final project for my senior AP U.S. Government and Politics class. I decided to take a hypothetical succession of Texas to create a new country with a Constitution similar to the United States' but with some important updates.
The Republic of Texas
The state divisions in
the Republic of Texas, which, hypothetically, has succeeded from the United
States and again has become an independent nation
In The Republic of Texas, once a territory of Mexico then
having gained its sovereignty through its own merits and with the aid of the
United States of America, then quickly having become a state under the United
States of America, following having succeeded to the Confederate States of
America and upon having lost the War between the States, having rejoined the
United States of America and having served as a state for many years, before
again succeeding and now again becoming a sovereign nation (which from this
point shall be called Texas for short), power is shared equally between the
federal and state governments. Ultimate, supreme power rests with the federal
government. Questions of public policy and issues affecting the entire nation
are decided by the federal government, while issues involving citizens (i.e.
social programs, entitlements, etc.) are left to the states.
The federal government is made up of a unicameral
legislature, elected every four years, based on population. This legislature is
proportional. There is a Supreme Court as well. The president is elected by popular
vote after the top four parties in the legislature choose a candidate to run.
The president is also elected every four years, alternating with the
legislature. The citizens have initiative, referendum, and limited recall
powers of federal and state elected officials. This was conceived to be the
best way to represent and protect the interests of all interests and factions,
as well as maintain democratic principles. The government’s ultimate purpose is
to protect the natural rights, as well as numerous other rights, of its people,
and to ensure their prosperity. Hence its powers, as well as the people’s
rights, are outlined on these principles more fully in the constitution.
The
Constitution of the Republic of Texas
once
a territory of Mexico then having gained its sovereignty through its own merits
and with the aid of the United States of America, then quickly having become a
state under the United States of America, following having succeeded to the
Confederate States of America and upon having lost the War between the States,
having rejoined the United States of America and having served as a state for
many years, before again succeeding and now again becoming a sovereign nation
We the people of the Republic of Texas, in order
to create and form a sovereign nation, do write this document to ensure the
rights and prosperity of the citizens of this nation. And this government shall
and will always be operated to this end.
Article I
Section 1
The Texas Assembly, the
national representative body, shall have all legislative powers.
Section 2
The Assembly shall be
elected every four years, by popular election in each state. Each state shall
have representatives in proportion to their population, at one representative
per 100,000 citizens. This number shall be altered every election, and
population shall be kept by a running census. A representative must be 26 years
of age, have been a citizen for 13 years, and be a resident of the state in
which they are elected.
Section 3
Members of the Assembly must
be present for all roll calls, unless previously cleared circumstances shall
arise. The Assembly shall assemble when inaugurated on the first Tuesday of
January (not on a holiday), and will assemble on Tuesday through Friday of each
week. Saturday through Monday, as well as holidays may be spent in
constituencies. Three weeks in July and November and December may also be
sabbaticals.
Section 4
Representatives shall be
paid at 20% more than the median income, and may also be allowed certain
privileges to help fulfill their duties.
Section 5
The Assembly shall
create its own rules for its workings and passing of laws. The president has
the power to veto a bill from the Assembly, and the Assembly may override a
veto with a ⅔ supermajority. The Assembly must also approve any presidential
nominees to the court, cabinet, or ambassadors, with a simple majority.
Section 6
The Assembly shall be
elected in a proportional manner. Each state’s delegation shall be seated based
on percentage of votes received by each political party.
Section 7
The Assembly has the
power to collect and impose duties, imposts, and excises, as well as a flat
income and sales tax equal to each other and not exceeding 10% more than those
taxes imposed by the state with the second-lowest level;
The Assembly also has
the power to declare war, coin money, create a uniform law of naturalization,
and to ensure the safety of its people.
Government entities in
the Republic of Texas have the power of eminent domain, so long as the property
seized does not include a place of current residence, place of main employment,
or historical site. The former two places may be seized with the owner’s
permission. Just compensation must be given for seized properties.
Any powers relating to
foreign nations or those of a national scope shall be delegated to The Assembly.
Section 8
No earmarking or
pork-barreling shall be permitted by members of the Assembly.
Section 9
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.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall
be passed.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
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.
The Assembly must pass and keep at all times a balanced budget,
and may at no time default into debt.
No title of nobility shall be granted by the Republic of Texas: And
no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall accept of any
present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any royalty or
foreign state.
Section 10
No state shall enter
into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and
reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; default into debt; pass any bill of
attainder, ex post facto Law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or
grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of The Assembly, lay any
imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely
necessary for executing it's inspection laws.
No state shall, without the consent of The Assembly, 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
war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of
delay.
Article II
Section 1
The executive power
shall be vested in a president, and a vice president elected on the same ballot
chosen as a running mate by the president. The president shall be elected every
four years, two years apart from The Assembly. The nominees for president shall
be chosen by the four parties in the majority in the Assembly during the month
of January. The election for president shall take place on the third Saturday
in October. The ticket with the plurality of votes shall be inaugurated on
January 10 of the following year.
The president must be
thirty years old and a citizen for twenty years at the time of his electing.
A president is limited
to serving two consecutive terms. If a vice president takes office within the
first two years of a president’s term, he is limited to one term.
The president shall
receive a compensation at 30% above the median income.
Section 2
The president is the
Commander in Chief of the military; he may utilize executive departments and
staff to carry out his duty that the laws of the land be faithfully executed;
he may grant reprieves and pardons for all crimes but impeachments; he may
appoint ambassadors, ministers, federal judges, executive officers, and other
officers as established by law, as well as make treaties, with ⅔ of The
Assembly’s approval, as well as appoint his staff without needed approval; he
shall receive ambassadors and foreign dignitaries; he shall deliver a State of
the Union address annually.
Section 3
If the president is
removed from office, dies, or resigns, the vice president shall become president.
If the vice president is
removed from office, dies, or resigns, the president shall appoint a new vice
president, who shall take office if approved by a majority of The Assembly.
If the president
believes he cannot fulfill his duties, he shall submit a document in writing to
the head of The Assembly. The vice president shall become acting president. The
president may regain his position with a written document.
When the vice president
and a majority of the executive officers believe the president is no longer
capable of performing his duties, the vice president shall become acting
president. The president may resume his duties by a written document to the
head of The Assembly. If the vice president and majority of executive officers
still believe the president is incapable of fulfilling his duties, they must
within three days file with the head of The Assembly, in which case The
Assembly will decide the issue. If ⅔ vote that the president cannot fulfill his
duties, the vice president will resume his position as acting president.
If the president-elect
has died at the time of inauguration, the vice president shall be inaugurated
as president, and shall choose a vice president, to be confirmed by a majority
of The Assembly.
The Assembly shall create
an order of succession past the president and vice president.
Section 4
The president or any
other civil officer may be impeached with a ⅝ supermajority, and shall have a
trial held in the chamber held by the Chief Justice, and can be removed with a
¾ supermajority.
Article III
Section 1
The judicial power of
the Republic of Texas shall be invested in a Supreme Court of nine members,
appointed by the president and confirmed by The Assembly. All lower courts
shall be determined by The Assembly. Judges shall serve during good behavior,
and the Supreme Court shall be compensated at 25% above the median income, and
all other judges at 20% above the median income.
Section 2
In cases affecting
citizens of different nations or those involving a state, the Supreme Court
shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases, it shall have appellate
jurisdiction.
The trial of all crimes
committed within a state shall be tried within that state.
Section 3
No citizen shall be
convicted of treason unless two witnesses are testimony to the same crime, and
proper evidence is offered for a conviction. The punishment of treason shall be
execution.
Section 4
Any person receiving a
second conviction for driving under the influence shall have their driver’s license
suspended for life. Any person who kills another while driving under the
influence of alcohol shall be subjected to capital punishment. Capital
punishment is also the punishment for murder of the first degree, homicide by
any weapon, and rape.
Article IV
Section 1
Full faith and credit
shall be given to all public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every
other state.
Section 2
The citizens of each
state shall be entitled to the privileges and immunities of the other states.
Any person in the
country legally is entitled to the same rights as a citizen of this nation.
Any person charged with
a crime who escapes to another state must be returned to the state in which the
crime was committed.
Section 3
No new state may be
admitted into the union without the consent of ¾ of the states, and, if
applicable, the permission of any state’s legislature whose land is taken by
the creation of the new state.
The Assembly has the
power to make dealings and maintain any territories of The Republic of Texas.
A secure border, at all
times, must be kept, to ensure the flow of only legal immigration, migrant
workers, and passport travelers.
Section 4
The Republic of Texas
shall ensure a republican form of government for its states, and protect each
of them against invasion and domestic violence.
Section 5
All servants of the
people will be bound by an oath of affirmation to defend this Constitution.
Article V
Section 1
Certain rights are
natural to the people, and shall be protected by this government, and all
regional governments:
No national religion may
be established. The free exercise of religion may not be prohibited, so long as
the religion does not interfere with the physical safety of others;
The freedom of speech,
that does not compromise the physical safety of others;
Freedom of the press is
given in gaining information and publishing, but is not limited to these
devices;
To assemble together;
To petition the
government for a redress of grievances;
To keep and bear arms;
To be protected against
unreasonable searches and seizures without a proper warrant being supplied,
whether the search be physical or virtual;
To be informed of the
cause of arrest, and receive an indictment for a crime before a Grand Jury, and
to be put through a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, being
confronted with witnesses against him and being supplied with witnesses in his
favor;
To have counsel in a
criminal case;
To be protected from
double jeopardy;
To be protected from
being a witness against himself in a criminal case;
To receive due process
of law;
To be protected against
excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishment unfitting to the crime
committed: any punishment copying the crime of the committed individual is not
cruel and unusual.
Section 2
The citizens of this
nation are not limited to the rights enumerated in this Constitution.
Section 3
Any citizen age 18 or
older is eligible to vote, as long as that citizen passes a basic understanding
test of the issues in the election, created by a committee formed by one member
from each of the parties in The Assembly.
Section 4
The term “personhood” is
granted to all humans in The Republic of Texas. Thus any performer or willing receiver
of an abortion will be charged with murder of the first degree. If the only
witness to the crime is the mother of the aborted child, a plea bargain may be
brought to wholly prosecute the individual who performed the abortion.
No person may marry anything
other than one person at any time. Regulation of homosexual marriage will be
left to the individual states. If territories are acquired by this nation,
homosexual marriage will be illegal.
For as long as a person
is incarcerated in prison, the prisoner will donate his hair and blood
regularly to local hospitals or charitable organizations as decided by the
prison. If the prisoner dies in prison or is executed, the prisoner’s organs
will be donated.
Slavery shall not exist
in The Republic of Texas, nor involuntary servitude of any kind.
The smoking of tobacco
is limited to private residences.
The use or making of
illicit drugs is prohibited. The trafficking of drugs or persons is prohibited.
Trafficking drugs may bring a life sentence; traffickers of persons will be
subject to capital punishment.
Segregation based on
race or ethnicity in public places is prohibited. The tailoring of admissions
into college or employment as to give advantage to certain races, minorities,
or genders is prohibited.
Groups cannot be created
with the purpose of donating to political campaigns, nor can any membership
fees for groups be used to donate to political campaigns.
Section 5
The laws of the federal
government, though limited in their scope, supercede the laws of the states.
Any powers not granted to the states or the people, nor denied to them, are
given to the people, and to the states.
Article VI
The Assembly may, when
it deems it necessary, propose amendments to this Constitution, with a ⅔
supermajority vote. The amendment shall become a part of this Constitution when
¾ of the state legislatures vote to ratify it.
Article VII
This Constitution, and
the boundaries of the Republic of Texas, shall become law upon ratification of
the state legislature and governor of the state of Texas, and the approval of
this convention.
Signed in the year of
our Lord on the twenty-fifth of May, two thousand and thirteen:
President Dylan Shonkwiler
Vice President Joe Trammell
Knower of All Mr. James McFarland
Octron Defense
Specialist Mr. Steve Peters
Founder Sam Houston
Protector Davy Crockett
Incorporator James K. Polk
Left-Front Table
Delegation Hailey Karrick, Claire
Brownfield
Left-Front-Middle Table
Delegation Kelsie Short, Taylor
Wilmes (Head of Drug Task Force)
Left-Back-Middle Table
Delegation Josh Young (Flyer of
Planes and Stuff, VP Counsel)
Left-Back Table
Delegation Zack Schneider, Prithvi
Patel (Head of Border Security)
Middle Table Delegation
Nate Woods (Attorney
General), Connor Stickelman (Head of the Bureau of Somnolence), Jon Dillon
(Press Secretary), Trevor Credit (Federal Bureau of Profanity)
Back-Middle Table
Delegation David Lee (Department of Agriculture), Logan Shannon (Head of
Internet Security), Kayla Fry, Sidney Wolf
