17.1 Foundations of Government & Founding Documents

Overview & Exam Relevance

Competency 005 (Government and Citizenship) of the TExES Core Subjects EC-6 Social Studies subject exam covers the origins and types of government, the founding documents of the United States and Texas, how national, state, and local governments are organized and changed, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. This guide divides it into three sections; this one covers forms of government and foundational documents. Elementary educators must guide young learners to understand how laws are created, how governmental power is limited to safeguard liberty, and how individuals participate responsibly in self-government.

On the TExES 391 exam, you must demonstrate a rigorous understanding of the Seven Principles of the Constitution, the structural contrasts between the U.S. government and the Texas state government (including the Texas plural executive, biennial legislative sessions, and dual high courts), the historical evolution of foundational democratic documents (such as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Texas Constitution of 1876), and the critical distinction between civic duties and civic responsibilities.

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Origins of Democratic Government

American ideas about government grew from older traditions:

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Why Societies Need Rules and Laws

Rules and laws provide order, security, and fairness. They protect rights, settle disagreements peacefully, and set consequences for harmful behavior. Under the rule of law, laws apply equally to everyone, including government leaders. Young students start with classroom and school rules and then compare them to community, state, and national laws, noticing who makes each rule and how it is enforced.

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Forms and Systems of Government

Human societies have developed diverse structures to organize political power and maintain social order:

SPECTRUM OF GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Democratic Governance           │        Authoritarian Governance         │
│ (Power resides with or derives from     │ (Power concentrated in rulers;           │
│  the consent of the governed)           │  civil liberties suppressed)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┘
     │                     │                    │                    │
     ▼                     ▼                    ▼                    ▼
Direct Democracy      Representative        Oligarchy          Totalitarianism /
(Citizens vote on     Democracy /           (Rule by a small   Dictatorship
 all laws directly)   Constitutional        wealthy/military   (Single party/tyrant;
                      Republic              elite)             total state control)
                      (Citizens elect
                       representatives)

• Democracy: A system of government in which supreme political authority rests with the people:
  • Direct Democracy: Citizens participate directly in legislative and executive decision-making without intermediaries (e.g., ancient Athens; modern municipal town hall meetings or statewide constitutional ballot referendums). Direct democracy becomes operationally impractical in large, populous nation-states.
  • Representative Democracy (Democratic Republic): Citizens exercise their sovereignty indirectly by electing representatives who enact legislation, debate policies, and administer government on their behalf. The United States and the State of Texas operate as constitutional republics, where written constitutions strictly limit majority power to protect individual minority rights.
• Constitutional Monarchy: A political system where a hereditary monarch serves as the ceremonial head of state, while actual legislative and executive governance resides within a democratically elected parliament and prime minister governed by a constitution (e.g., the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden).
• Oligarchy: An authoritarian form of government in which sovereign power is monopolized by a small, self-appointed ruling elite distinguished by extreme wealth, noble lineage, military control, or religious dominance.
• Totalitarianism and Dictatorship: Systems of absolute, unchecked autocratic power. In a dictatorship, a single ruler or military junta holds absolute authority. In a totalitarian state, the government seeks to control every facet of public and private life, outlawing opposition political parties, censoring the press, suppressing civil liberties, and maintaining control through state surveillance and terror.

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The Seven Basic Principles of Constitutional Governance

Both the United States Constitution (1787) and the Texas Constitution (1876) are constructed upon seven fundamental philosophical principles designed to secure liberty, prevent tyranny, and establish orderly self-government:

The Operational Distinction Between Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

A Critical Exam Trap: TExES questions frequently assess whether candidates can distinguish between Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances:

• Separation of Powers is the structural division of labor: Article I gives the legislative branch the sole power to make laws, Article II gives the executive branch the power to enforce laws, and Article III gives the judicial branch the power to interpret laws. It answers the question: Who has which authority?
• Checks and Balances represents the interactive restraints one branch exerts over another. When the President vetoes an act passed by Congress, or when the Supreme Court declares a presidential executive order unconstitutional (judicial review), they are executing checks and balances. It answers the question: How does one branch restrain another?

Division of Powers in the Federal System

Under constitutional Federalism, powers are categorized into three distinct jurisdictional tiers:

1. Enumerated (Delegated) Powers: Powers granted exclusively to the federal national government under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Examples: coining money, maintaining the armed forces, declaring war, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, and negotiating foreign treaties.
2. Reserved Powers: Powers preserved exclusively to the fifty state governments under the Tenth Amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people"). Examples: establishing public school systems, issuing marriage and professional licenses, conducting local and national elections, establishing municipal police forces, and regulating intrastate commerce.
3. Concurrent Powers: Powers exercised simultaneously and independently by both national and state governments. Examples: levying taxes, borrowing money, building public roads and highways, chartering banks, and maintaining judicial court systems.

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Landmark Historical Documents of Self-Government

Elementary social studies instruction examines the historical evolution of constitutional self-government through landmark primary source documents:

CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN & TEXAS DEMOCRATIC DOCUMENTS
Mayflower Compact (1620)  ──► First social contract for colonial self-government
Declaration of Independence (1776) ──► Unalienable natural rights & consent of governed
U.S. Constitution (1787)   ──► Federal constitutional republic & separation of powers
Bill of Rights (1791)      ──► Codified civil liberties (First 10 Amendments)
Texas Declaration of Independence (1836) ──► Severed Texas ties with Santa Anna's Mexico
Texas Constitution of 1876 ──► Current governing charter; plural executive & limited power

1. The Mayflower Compact (1620): Drafted aboard the Mayflower by Pilgrim leaders prior to disembarking at Plymouth. Recognizing they had landed outside the legal boundaries of their Virginia Company charter, 41 adult male passengers signed an agreement creating a "civil body politic" to enact "just and equal laws" for the general good of the colony. It stands as the earliest American precedent for government by social contract and the consent of the governed.
2. The Declaration of Independence (1776): Covered in the U.S. history section of this guide. For government, its key ideas are unalienable rights, government by the consent of the governed, and the people's right to alter or abolish a government that violates those rights. These became the principles of popular sovereignty and limited government.
3. The United States Constitution (1787): Drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to replace the weak Articles of Confederation. Crafted by delegates including James Madison, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton, it created a strong yet limited federal republic balancing power through the Great Compromise (bicameral legislature), Separation of Powers, and Checks and Balances.
4. The Bill of Rights (1791): The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted by James Madison to address Anti-Federalist fears of centralized tyranny. Protects fundamental individual rights:
   • First Amendment: Freedoms of religion (establishment and free exercise clauses), speech, press, peaceful assembly, and petitioning the government.
   • Second Amendment: Right of the people to keep and bear arms.
   • Third Amendment: Prohibits quartering of soldiers in private homes during peacetime without owner consent.
   • Fourth Amendment: Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; requires warrants supported by probable cause.
   • Fifth Amendment: Due process of law; protects against double jeopardy and self-incrimination; protects private property via eminent domain just compensation.
   • Sixth Amendment: Right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in criminal prosecutions; right to confront witnesses and right to legal counsel.
   • Seventh Amendment: Right to a jury trial in civil lawsuits exceeding $20.
   • Eighth Amendment: Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments.
   • Ninth Amendment: Clarifies that the enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not deny or disparage other unenumerated rights retained by the people.
   • Tenth Amendment: Declares that powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or to the people (the foundation of Federalism).
5. The Texas Declaration of Independence (March 2, 1836): Drafted by George C. Childress and adopted at Washington-on-the-Brazos. It declared Texas a free and independent republic from Mexico, enumerating grievances against General Antonio López de Santa Anna, who had abolished the federalist Mexican Constitution of 1824, centralized military dictatorship, dissolved state legislatures, failed to establish public education, and denied religious liberty.
6. The Texas Constitution of 1876: The current, enduring governing constitution of Texas. Framed by delegates reacting against the centralized power of Reconstruction Governor Edmund J. Davis, it intentionally weakened state government. It established a plural executive, provided for biennial legislative sessions (the 140-day limit on regular sessions came from a later amendment), limited state debt and spending, provided for the popular election of judges, and restricted the state's taxing power. Because it is so detailed, Texas voters have amended it more than 500 times.