Third Amendment to the United States Constitution troops was cited as one of the colonists' grievances in the United States Declaration of Independence. After several years of comparatively weak government under the Articles of Confederation, a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia proposed a new constitution on September 17, 1787, featuring a stronger chief executive and other changes. George Mason, a Constitutional Convention delegate and the drafter of Virginia's Declaration of Rights, proposed that a bill of rights listing and guaranteeing civil liberties be included. Other delegates—including future Bill of Rights drafter James Madison—disagreed, arguing that existing state guarantees of civil liberties were sufficient and that any attempt to
Constitution of the Republic of Texas republic, rather than a federal one as defined in the U.S. Constitution. Presidential terms were established at three years and they could not succeed themselves, modeling after provisions in the Mexican Constitution. The constitution also protected the right to own slaves and prohibited "Indians" and "Africans" from living freely in the country and from becoming Texan citizens. A constitutional convention began following the declaration of independence and an interim government was put into place. The convention adopted a document on March 16, 1836 and adjourned on March 17, 1836. Following the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto on April