Constitution Of The Spanish Republic
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The Spanish Constitution of 1931 was approved by the Constituent Assembly on 9 December 1931. It was the constitution of the Second Spanish Republic (founded 14 April 1931) and was in force until 1 April 1939. This was the second period of
Spanish history The history of Spain dates to contact the pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula made with the Greeks and Phoenicians and the first writing systems known as Paleohispanic scripts were developed. During Classical A ...
in which both head of state and head of government were democratically elected. A constitutional draft prepared by a commission under a reformist Catholic lawyer
Ãngel Ossorio y Gallardo Angel Ossorio y Gallardo (b. Madrid, 20 June 1873 - d. Buenos Aires, 19 May 1946) was a Spanish lawyer and statesman. He served as Minister of Development during the reign of Alfonso XIII and later was a staunch supporter of the Second Spanish Repu ...
having been rejected, an amended draft was approved by the Constituent Assembly on 9 December 1931. It created a secular democratic system based on equal rights for all citizens, with provision for regional autonomy. It introduced
female suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
, civil marriage and divorce. It permitted the state to expropriate private property, with compensation, for reasons of broader social utility. It also established free, obligatory, secular education for all and dissolved the Jesuits. The Republic "was the culmination of a process of mass mobilisation and opposition to the old politics of notables." According to the historian Mary Vincent the Constitution envisaged "a reforming regime with an explicit and self-conscious view of what modernising Spain should entail. A secular state operating according to the rule of law with an admittedly ill-defined sense of social justice would open the way for an educated body of citizens to enjoy 'European' prosperity and freedom." According to Frances Lannon however, the articles on property and religion, with their exaltation of state power and disregard for civil rights, "virtually destroyed any prospect there had been for the development of a Catholic, conservative, Republicanism."Frances Lannon, p.20 the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 The new Constitution, among other laws, is described as having been anticlerical. While it afforded broad civil liberties and democratic representation, it abolished privileges associated with the Catholic Church, and did not explicitly protect Roman Catholic interests or rights. As anticlerical sentiment had been growing for decades, it culminated in escalating mob violence against the Church which the new government was unable to curb. This resulted in severely strained church-state relations, noted as a significant cause of the breakdown of the Republic and of the Spanish Civil War.


Background

The Second Republic began on 14 April 1931 after the departure from Spain of King Alfonso XIII, following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas. Though Alfonso did not formally abdicate, his departure from the country led to a provisional government under Niceto Alcalá Zamora, and a constituent Cortes drew up a new constitution. The Second Republic in 1931 brought enormous hopes for Spanish workers and peasants, and in social terms some advances were made, especially for women. Prime Minister Manuel Azaña asserted that the Catholic Church was responsible in part for what many perceived as Spain's backwardness and advocated the elimination of special privileges for the Church. Azaña wanted the Second Spanish Republic to emulate the pre-1914 Third French Republic, make secular schooling free and compulsory, and construct a non-religious basis for national culture and citizenship.


Provisions

Following elections in June 1931 the new parliament approved an amended constitutional draft on 9 December 1931. The constitution introduced female suffrage, civil marriage and divorce.Anticlericalism
Britannica Online Encyclopedia
It also established free, obligatory, secular education for all. However, some laws nationalized Roman Catholic Church properties and required the Roman Catholic Church to pay rent for the use of properties which it had previously owned. In addition, the government forbade public manifestations of Catholicism such as processions on religious feast days, dissolved the Jesuits and banned Catholic education by prohibiting the religious communities of nuns, priests and brothers from teaching even in private schools. The constitution also made the right to property subject to the public good, such that it could be nationalized as long as the owner was compensated. The constitution granted freedom of religion to all, including non-catholic worship in Spain.


Political aspects

Head of State was the President of the Republic, who was elected by an Electoral College composed of members of legislative branch and elector citizens called compromisaries (''compromisarios)'' elected by popular vote. Legislature was in charge of a unicameral assembly, the General Courts ('' Cortes Generales''), composed by members elected by popular vote for 4 years term. Popular initiative of law could be made at request of 15 percent of the country citizens, with restrictions on the subjects to be presented. Executive branch was exercised by a Prime Minister ('' Presidente del Gobierno''), appointed by the President of the Republic and General Courts, and a cabinet of ministers. It was established a Court of Constitutional Guarantees (''Tribunal de Garantías Constitucionales''), whose work was guarding the constitutionality of laws and settling disputes between state powers. It established the territorial division in provinces, and the possibility that those that had common cultural characteristics could be united to obtain the territorial autonomy as unified region through an Autonomy Statute ( ''Estatuto de Autonomía)''.


Disestablishment of the privileges of the Roman Catholic Church

Although the constitution generally accorded thorough civil liberties and representation, there was a notable exclusion regarding the privileges of the Catholic Church, which some regarded as crucial to prevent the forming of an expansive democratic majority.Payne, Stanley G. ''A History of Spain and Portugal'', Vol. 2, Ch. 25, p. 632 (Print Edition: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973) (LIBRARY OF IBERIAN RESOURCES ONLINE Accessed May 30, 2007)
/ref> The controversial articles 26 and 27 of the constitution strictly controlled Church property and prohibited religious orders from engaging in education.Smith, Angel
Dictionary of Spain
p. 195, Rowman & Littlefield 2008
This was seen as explicitly hostile to Roman Catholicism, both by supporters of the established Church, and by advocates of church-state separation. One such advocate of separation,
José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; 9 May 1883 â€“ 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century, while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. His philosoph ...
, stated "the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me."
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 â€“ 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
condemned the Spanish Government's deprivation of the privileges of Catholics in the
encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
''
Dilectissima Nobis ''Dilectissima Nobis'' ("On Oppression of the Church of Spain") is an encyclical issued by Pope Pius XI on June 3, 1933, in which he decried persecution of the Church in Spain, citing the expropriation of all Church buildings, episcopal residenc ...
'' ("On Oppression Of The Church Of Spain"). In October 1931 José María Gil-Robles the leading spokesman of the parliamentary right declared that the constitution was 'stillborn' - a 'dictatorial Constitution in the name of democracy.' Robles wanted to use mass meetings "to give supporters of the right a sense of their own strength and, ominously, to accustom them 'to fight, when necessary, for the possession of the street.'" The conservative Catholic Republicans Alcalá-Zamora and Miguel Maura resigned from the government when the controversial articles 26 and 27 of the constitution, which strictly controlled Church property and prohibited religious orders from engaging in education were passed.
Frances Lannon Dame Frances Lannon DBE FRHistS (born 22 December 1945) is a retired British academic and educator. She was Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, she was educated at Lady Margaret Hall ( BA) and at St Antony's ...
calls the constitution "divisive" in that the articles on property and religion, prioritizing state power, had a "disregard for civil rights" and ruined the prospect of the development of a Catholic, conservative, Republicanism. Likewise,
Stanley Payne Stanley George Payne (born September 9, 1934) is an American historian of modern Spain and European Fascism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He retired from full-time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Department ...
agrees that the constitution generally accorded a wide range of civil liberties and representation with the notable exception of the rights of Catholics, a circumstance which prevented the formation of an expansive democratic majority. Since the far left considered reform of these aspects of the constitution as totally unacceptable, commentators have opined that "the Republic as a democratic constitutional regime was doomed from the outset". Commentators have posited that such a "hostile" approach to the issues of church and state were a substantial cause of the breakdown of democracy and the onset of civil war. One legal commentator emphasized that "the gravest mistake of the Constitution of 1931-Spain's last democratic Constitution prior to 1978-was its hostile attitude towards the Catholic Church."


Liberties for religious minorities

The Spanish Constitution of 1931 attempted to secure religious liberty for religious organizations other than Roman Catholics, halting discrimination and persecution of Jews and Protestants. However, this freedom would be curbed by the Franco's dictatorial regime that granted the Roman Catholic Church the status of official religion of Spain and prohibited other public religious manifestations.Fuero de los españoles (1945) Art. 6.- La profesión y práctica de la Religión Católica, que es la del Estado español, gozará de la protección oficial. Nadie será molestado por sus creencias religiosas ni el ejercicio privado de su culto. No se permitirán otras ceremonias ni manifestaciones externas que las de la Religión Católica.


See also

* Spanish First Republic *
Pact of San Sebastián The Pact of San Sebastián was a meeting led by Niceto Alcalá Zamora and Miguel Maura, which took place in San Sebastián, Spain on 17 August 1930. Representatives from practically all republican political movements in Spain at the time attended t ...


References


External links

* Constitución de la República Española de 1931 (Spanish)
English Translation of the Constitution of the Spanish Republic (1931)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Constitution Of 1931 Constitutions of Spain 1931 in law Constitution Spain 1931 Second Spanish Republic Constitution of 1931 Republicanism in Spain Secularism in Spain 1931 documents