HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Argentine Constitution of 1819 was a
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
drafted by the
Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...
in 1819, shortly after the
Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Argentina, links=no) was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín ...
. It was promoted by
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
but rejected by the other provinces and did not come into force.


Sanction

The
Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...
had moved to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, after having issued the
Argentine Declaration of Independence What today is commonly referred as the Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9, 1816, by the Congress of Tucumán. In reality, the congressmen who were assembled in Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of So ...
in
San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentina, ...
. The draft was based on the current laws ruling the
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Co ...
, as well as in foreign constitutions like those of the US, France or Spain. It was written by
José Mariano Serrano José Mariano Serrano (8 September 1788–1852) was a Bolivian-born statesman and jurist. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán of 9 July 1816 which declared the Independence of the provinces of the River Plate and presided over ...
,
Diego Estanislao Zavaleta Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. Et ...
, Teodoro Sánchez de Bustamante,
Juan José Paso Juan José Esteban Paso, (January 2, 1758, Buenos Aires – September 10, 1833) was an Argentine politician who participated in the events that started the Argentine War of Independence known as May Revolution of 1810. Biography Early life ...
and
Antonio Sáenz Antonio Sáenz (June 6, 1780 – July 22, 1825) was an Argentine statesman, educator and cleric. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán of July 9, 1816, which declared the Independence of Argentina. He was the first rector of t ...
.


Contents

The Constitution set the
separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typi ...
into three distinct branches, with the executive power to be held by a "Supreme Director", who would be elected by a majority of a Joint Session of Congress, and who would serve a 5-year term. Under the form of government established in 1814, the executive power had been exercised by the
Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, Director Supremo de las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata) was a title given to the executive officers of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata according to the f ...
, but there had been attempts to crown a Bourbon as King of the United Provinces. He would have the authority to designate the governors of the provinces. The legislative power was meant to be exercised by two chambers; one of Senators, the other of deputies. Besides a fixed number of Senators by province, the chamber of Senators would also be composed by three military people (rank colonel or higher), one bishop, three clergymen, a representative of each University, and the former Supreme Director. Both senators and deputies had to prove an estate of $8.000 and $4.000 respectively. The chamber of deputies was to have the initiative in issues related with taxes.


Reactions

The constitution was promulgated on May 25, 1819. It was immediately rejected by the
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
, which would wage war against the Supreme Directorship. As the national armies that were fighting the
War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of ...
refused to fight a civil war, the diminished troops of Supreme Director José Rondeau were defeated during the February 1, 1820 Battle of Cepeda. The 1819 Constitution was thus repealed.


See also

*
Argentine Constitution of 1826 The Argentine Constitution of 1826 was a short-lived Constitution of Argentina drafted during the Argentine Civil Wars. Bernardino Rivadavia was appointed President of Argentina under this constitution. It was rejected by most Argentine provinces ...


External links

{{Congreso de Tucumán Constitutions of Argentina Argentine Civil War Defunct constitutions 1819 establishments in Argentina 1819 in law 1820 disestablishments in Argentina 1819 documents