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Document 2: “Article VIII. Slaves,” Constitution of the State of Texas, 1845
Document 2: “Article VIII. Slaves,” Constitution of the State of Texas, 1845
Texas’s journey to statehood was long and difficult. After gaining independence from Mexico in 1836, it became a republic and then entered into statehood discussions with the United States. Slavery was legal in the Republic of Texas, and the possibility of another slave-holding state angered many northern antislavery activists. Historians estimate there were 125,000 people in Texas at this time, about 30,000 of whom were enslaved.
A constitutional convention in Texas ratified its new constitution in July of 1845, which was accepted by the U.S. Congress on December 29, 1845, making Texas the 28th state. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, Texas’s clearly and directly lays out laws governing enslavement. Many antislavery activists worried that adding another slave-holding state would throw off the political balance of Congress. This was temporarily remedied by the Compromise of 1850, in which California was admitted as a free state.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Beneficence: Doing good, an act of kindness
Bona fide: (Latin) Not counterfeit; genuine
Petit larceny: Theft involving property of a value below a legally established minimum
Petit jury: A jury of 12 persons impaneled to try and to decide finally upon the facts at issue in causes for trial in a court
Preamble:
We, the people of the republic of Texas, acknowledging
with gratitude the grace and beneficence of God, in permitting
us to make a choice of our form of government, do, in accor-
dance with the provisions of the joint resolution for annexing
Texas to the United States, approved March first, one thou-
sand eight hundred and forty-five, ordain and establish
this constitution. …
ARTICLE VIII.
Slaves.
SEC. 1. The legislature shall have no power to pass
laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their
owners, nor without paying their owners, previous to such eman-
cipation, a full equivalent in money for the slaves so emanci_
pated. They shall have no power to prevent emigrants to this
State from bringing with them such persons as are deemed
slaves by the laws of any of the United States, so long as any
person of the same age or description shall be continued in slave-
ry by the laws of this State: provided, that such slave be the
bona fide property of such emigrants: provided, also, that laws
shall be passed to inhibit the introduction, into this State, of
slaves who have committed high crimes in other States or Terri-
tories. They shall have the right to pass laws to permit the
owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the rights of credit-
ors, and preventing them from becoming a public charge. They
shall have full power to pass laws which will oblige the owners
of slaves to treat them with humanity; to provide for their ne-
cessary food and clothing; to abstain from all injuries to them,
extending to life or limb; and, in case of their neglect or refu-
sal to comply with the directions of such laws, to have such
slave or slaves taken from such owner and sold for the benefit
of such owner or owners. They may pass laws to prevent slaves
from being brought into this State as merchandise only.
SEC. 2. In the prosecution of slaves for crimes of a higher
grade than petit larceny, the legislature shall have no power to
deprive them of an impartial trial by a petit jury.
SEC. 3. Any person who shall maliciously dismember, or de-
prive a slave of life, shall suffer such punishment as would be
inflicted in case the like offence had been committed upon a free
white person, and on the like proof, except in case of insurrection
of such slave.
Text-Dependent Questions
Text-Dependent Questions
What rights does the constitution grant to the people of Texas?
What powers does the constitution grant to the state legislature?
What portions of this text seem to address concerns over slavery as an inhumane institution?
According to this document, under what circumstances is violence against an enslaved person permitted?
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
Compare these articles from the Texas Constitution with the “slavery articles” from the US Constitution (Document 1). How did each of them uphold and protect the institution of slavery? How are they similar/different?
CitationConstitution of Texas, 1845Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas, https://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/c.php?g=787754&p=5639712
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