: ''For the current Texas legislative body, see

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ar ...

.'' The Congress of the Republic of Texas was the national legislature of the Republic of Texas established by the

Constitution of the Republic of Texas The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845. On March 2, 1836, Texas declared itself an independent republic because of a lack of support in the United States for the Texas Revolution. The declaration ...

in 1836. It was a bicameral legislature based on the model of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. It was transformed into the

upon

annexation of Texas The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...

by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1846. A vestige of it remains in the name of Austin's main north–south street leading from the State Capitol,

Congress Avenue Congress Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Austin, Texas. The street is a six-lane, tree lined avenue that cuts through the middle of the city from far south Austin and goes over Lady Bird Lake leading to the Texas State Capitol in the heart of ...

, when it was founded as the intended national capital.

Membership and organization

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives was to be made up of 24-40 members. until such time as the population of the republic should exceed 100,000. When the population exceeded this number the house was to be made up of "not less than forty nor more than one hundred pieces provided that each county was entitled to at least one representative." Members of the House were elected on the first Monday in September, each year and were elected to a one-year term. A member had to be twenty-five or older, a citizen of the republic, and a resident of his district for six months. The House chose its speaker and had sole power of impeachment.Congress of the Republic of Texax
" '' Handbook of Texas''

Senate

The Senate was chosen by districts that were as nearly equal as possible to the population of free men ("free negroes and Indians excepted")Article I, Section 7, Constitution of the Republic of Texas. The Senate was to have a membership numbering "not less than one-third nor more than one-half that of the House." Senate districts were entitled to be represented by no more than one member. A senator had to be thirty or older, a citizen of the republic, and a resident of his district for one year. Senators were elected to three year terms, with one-third of the members being elected each year. The

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

presided over the Senate, "but shall not vote on any question, unless the senate be equally divided." Beyond that, the Senate chose its own officers, including the President pro tem, and had sole responsibility to try impeachments.

General

No person holding an office of profit under the government, or who collected monies on behalf of the government was eligible to serve in the Congress. No minister of the gospel or priest of any denomination whatever was eligible to the office of the Executive of the Republic, nor to a seat of either branch of the Congress of the same. Each house was to judge election and qualification of its own members. A quorum in either house was two-thirds of its membership. Members were to receive pay as fixed by law, but no change could be made in salary in the session in which the change was made. Since the terms of House members was one year, each Congress lasted only one year.

History of the Texas Congress

The

1st Congress of the Republic of Texas The First Congress of the Republic of Texas, consisting of the Senate of the Republic of Texas and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, met in Columbia at two separate buildings (one for each chamber) and then in Houston at the prese ...

, which convened at Columbia on October 3, 1836, was made up of thirty representatives and fourteen senators. The interim vice president, Lorenzo de Zavala, served as President of the Senate until October 22, when

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an Lawyer, attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Republic of Texas, Texas ...

was inaugurated as vice president and Richard Ellis was elected President pro tem of the Senate. Ira Ingram was elected Speaker of the House. Throughout its history, the Republic of Texas had nine congresses.

Powers of the Congress

Article II of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas set forth the following powers: * to levy and collect taxes and imposts, excise and tonnage duties; to borrow money on the faith, credit, and property of the government, to pay the debts and to provide for the common defence and general welfare of the republic. * to regulate commerce, to coin money, to regulate the value thereof and of foreign coin, to fix the standard of weights and measures, but nothing but gold and silver shall be made a lawful tender. * to establish post offices and post roads, to grant charters of incorporation, patents and copy rights, and secure to the authors and inventors the exclusive use thereof for a limited time. * to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and to regulate captures. * to provide and maintain an army and navy, and to make all laws and regulations necessary for their government. * to call out the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

to execute the law, to suppress insurrections, and repel invasion. * to make all laws which shall be deemed necessary and proper to carry into effect the foregoing express grants of power, and all other powers vested in the government of the republic, or in any officer or department thereof.Article II. Constitution of the Republic of Texas

References

{{Authority control Texas, Republic . Republic of Texas Texas Legislature 1836 establishments in the Republic of Texas 1846 disestablishments in the United States 19th-century disestablishments in Texas