7th Grade Texas History Practice Test

The main idea being tested is recognizing what legal document the Texas Declaration of Independence said Santa Anna violated. Texans argued that Santa Anna’s government violated the Mexican Constitution of 1824, which established a federal republic and protections for the states’ rights. When Santa Anna centralized power, dissolved the federal system, and moved toward a strong central authority, he undermined what the 1824 Constitution guaranteed. That breach—suspending or ignoring the federal framework—was a core grievance listed in the declaration. Context helps: After Mexico won independence from Spain, the 1824 Constitution set up a union with shared powers between the national government and the states. Texans and other Mexican states preferred this federal arrangement. Santa Anna’s later centralist policies reversed that setup, concentrating power at the national level and eroding local self-government. That shift is why the Texans cited the Constitution of 1824 as the document being violated. The other options don’t fit because there wasn’t a Constitution of 1820 governing this issue, and 1830 isn’t the charter in question; the Treaty of Tejas is not a constitutional instrument referenced in the declaration.