As part of our activities commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence, our current featured book display and companion reading list offer a selection of titles related to this legacy and its connection to Texas history. For example, The American Solution: Origins of the U.S. Constitution, by Robert Allen Rutland, examines how the country was founded. Though Texas was not one of the original 13 colonies, the historical record of Texas shares similarities with and echoes the sentiments of the documents written there.

Another title on display, The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, by L.W. Kemp provides backgrounds for each of the 59 members of the convention who met in the spring of 1836 to issue a Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2. The revolutionaries then hastily proceeded to craft a constitution for the new Republic of Texas, borrowing heavily from the U.S. Constitution. Learn more about the 59 signers and the document they created in the publication, Constitution of the Republic of Texas. To Which is Prefixed the Declaration of Independence, Made in Convention, March 2, 1836.

Between 1836 and 1876, Texas would see a series of constitutions adopted to reflect the changing status of the government. The first new constitution was drafted once Texas was accepted for annexation to the United States in 1845, followed by another constitution in 1861 when Texas seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy. Two more versions (1866,1869) would follow during the period of Reconstruction when states were required to ratify three new amendments to the U.S. Constitution in order to rejoin the country.

Texas was readmitted to the U.S. in 1870 with the 1869 constitution in place, but with a new convention on the horizon. Read Debates in the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875 to learn what was discussed to draft the next version that was ratified in 1876. Though this document is 150 years old, it still serves as the current constitution for the state.

Lawmakers have attempted to create a new state constitution for the modern age. Almost a century and hundreds of amendments later, delegates met in 1974 to write a new constitution. Delegates struggled to agree and instead of a new constitution, they submitted eight constitutional amendments to Texans for a vote. None of these amendments passed. The Texas Constitutional Revision Experience in the 70’s, by Janice C. May describes the details of this episode in Texas constitutional history. In addition, audiovisual materials from the convention, including the film productions The Making of the Texas Constitution and A New Constitution for Texas, have been digitized and are available online in the Texas Digital Archive (TDA). Documents from other constitutional conventions are also available in the TDA: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/tda/texas-state-government/texas-conventions/.

The 1876 Constitution, with digital images of the pages and transcribed text, is available online at TSLAC. There are also published versions in our collections and you may even take a closer look at the original signed document on view in TSLAC’s Reference Reading Room through July.

The list below offers more options to explore the founding of Texas and the nation. Search the TSLAC catalog for additional publications on these topics. For more information about access to the titles on display, please contact TSLAC reference services at ref@tsl.texas.gov or call 512-436-5455.

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title	author	call num.	location	digital
The Texas State Constitution	May, Janice C.	342.764 M451t GOV	Ref RR
Our documents: 100 milestone documents from the National Archives.	United States. National Archives and Records Administration.	973 UN3o US GOV-HIST	Ref RR
Events preceding the Declaration of the Independence of Texas	Hill, George Alfred	976.404 H552e	MAIN
The signers of the Texas declaration of independence	Kemp, L. W.	976.403 K32S 1959	MAIN
The State Constitution of Texas: including the complete text and amendments, together with the Declaration of Independence	Texas	342.764 T312s 1963	MAIN
Fifty-nine for freedom: the Texas signers	Adams, Willena Casey	923.2764 AD19	MAIN
The constitution and government of Texas	Stewart, Frank Mann	342.764 ST4c 1949	MAIN
The Texas constitutional revision experience in the 70’s	May, Janice C.	342.764 M451	MAIN
The father of Texas: Stephen F. Austin	Phegley, Mallie	976.402092 AU77p	MAIN
Our Texas Bill of Rights	Harrington, James C.	342.764 H237O	MAIN
The Texas Bill of Rights: in the mainstream of the movement to protect individual rights: a commentary and litigation manual	Harrington, James C.	342.764 H238T	MAIN
Popular series of national documents; containing. I. The civil rights bill. II. The veto message. III. The Freedmen’s Bureau bill. IV. The veto message.	New York, Published at the Office of the Commercial Advertiser [1866?]	973.81 P819	MAIN
Constitution of the republic of Texas. To which is prefixed the declaration of independence, made in convention, March 2, 1836	Texas	L1790.4 C766r 1836	TXD
Constitutional Convention of Texas: procedures manual	Texas. Constitutional Convention (1974)	C3050.5 P942 1974	TXD
1974 Texas Constitutional Convention : [the plan].	Texas. Legislature. Joint Constitutional Convention Planning Committee.	C3050.3 C766 1974 V.1 (2, & 3)	TXD
Debates in the Texas Constitutional convention of 1875	Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875)	C3044.8 D35 1875	TXD
Rules and order of proceeding adopted by the Constitutional convention, September 8, 1875.	Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875)	C3044.4 R861 1875	TXD
Constitutional Convention, a new beginning: two constitutions, 1875 and 1974	Cook, Lucia G.	C3050.8 N42B	TXD
Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the state of Texas: begun and held at the city of Austin, September 6th, 1875	Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875)	C3044.6 J826 1875	TXD	yes
Constitution of the state of Texas: adopted by the Constitutional Convention convened at Austin, September 6th, 1875	Texas	L1800.9 C7664 1876-1912	TXD
Address to the people of Texas	Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875)	C3044.8 AD28p 1875	TXD
Biographical directory of the Texan conventions and congresses, 1832-1845	Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives.	L1801.5 B52d 1942	TXD
Is there a constitutional convention in America’s future?	United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary.	Y 4.J 89/1:AM 3/8	USD
A decent respect to the opinions of mankind: Congressional State papers, 1774-1776	United States. Continental Congress.	LC 1.2:OP 3	USD
The American solution: origins of the U.S. Constitution	Rutland, Robert Allen	LC 1.2:AM 3/14	USD
The American solution: origins of the U.S. Constitution: an exhibition at the Library of Congress Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building, May 14 through September 17, 1987	Rutland, Robert Allen	LC 1.2:AM 3/13	USD
The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence	[Washington, D.C. : Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution], 1992.	Y 3.B 47/2:2 C 76/9/992	USD
The Bill of Rights	Center of Military History.	D 114.2:B 49	USD

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