Introduction
The great State of Tennessee has had three major constitutional dispensations but all three are closely related. The modern constitutional dispensation commenced with the promulgation of its third constitution in 1870. This was in line with the terms of the conclusion of the Civil War that indicated that each Confederate State adopts a new constitution that expressly prohibits slavery. Save for slavery, most of the provisions in the earlier constitutions remained in the 1870 constitution. Among the reputed achievements of the constitution of Tennessee is that it was not amended until 1953 almost two centuries later (Laska 2011) . The state prides itself on this being the only constitution that can make such a claim in the globe. Among the key features of this constitution is an elaborate and comprehensive bill of rights. The state also has a well-established separation of powers based on three centers; the executive, judiciary and the legislature. In spite of the existence of checks and balances, the legislature dominates over the other two arms of government. As far as modern constitutions go, the Tennessee state constitutions can be considered as among the very best.
The main Components of Government
The Executive
The executive branch of the Tennessee government is dominated by the president who is the only government officer elected by the entire state. The only other constitutional officers in the executive are secretary of state, state treasurer, and comptroller. The constitution does not even provide for the position of lieutenant governor. The secretary of state and the controller are second and third in the line of succession with the immediate successor to the president being the speaker of the House of Representatives. The president serves a four-year term and is eligible for re-election only once. He/she must be at least 30 years of age and domiciled in Tennessee for seven years before running for office (Laska 2011) . The governor is in charge of both the executive and the state militia. He also has a veto power over the bills passed by the two houses of the legislature. All these powers are, however, subject to control by the legislature.
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The Judiciary
The judiciary is made up of the Supreme Court of Tennessee led by a chief justice who is elected by the other Supreme Court judges from among themselves. These justices were all traditionally elected by popular vote for an eight-year term. By virtue of the constitutional amendment in 2014, the judges of Tennessee Supreme Court, the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals are all mainly appointed rather than elected (Neal III & Casteel, 2015) . A special commission recommends names to the governor for the appointment of these judges. The governor will then make the appointments based on the recommended names. Every eight years, there are judicial elections where the populace by a no or yes vote determine if any of the judges will continue serving or vacate office. The general assembly retains the power to impeach any of the members of the judiciary through a supermajority vote of two-thirds (Neal III & Casteel, 2015) .
The Legislature
The legislature is the arm of the Tennessee government that generates law through the passage of bills (Laska 2011) . This legislature, referred to as the general assembly is bicameral in nature, having both the lower and the upper houses. The lower house is referred to as the House of Representatives and has 99 members, selected by counties based on their numerical power. No area of representation can have more than one representative, thus when a county is to be represented by more than one member due to its numerical strength, it is subdivided into voting districts. The upper house, called the senate is limited to a third of the members of the House of Representatives. Normally, the senate has 33 members. To be a representative, a candidate must be over 21 years of age, a US citizen and domiciled in Tennessee for over three years prior to the elections (Laska 2011) . To become a senator, the only manifest difference is age as senatorial candidates must have attained the age of 30 years. An important constitutional variation in the state legislator of Tennessee is that omnibus bills cannot be passed. Every bill is limited to the scope of its heading and no additional issues can be added in the body of the bill as is done by Congress . A bill will either pass or fail on its own merit.
The Seeming Superior Branch of Government
The Tennessee Constitution does not make any attempt to veil the fact that the legislature is the supreme arm of government. The powers of the legislature are always over and above all the other arms of government and even the executive and judiciary combined. For a start, once a law has been passed by the legislature, it is almost impossible for the executive to overrule it. The presidential veto power can always be overruled by a simple majority of the general assembly making is suggestive in nature (Laska 2011) . Further, the second most powerful person in the executive is a member of the legislature who is the speaker of the House of Representatives. It is customary for the speaker of the House of Representatives to be called the lieutenant governor. Even in times of war or emergencies, it is the legislature that determines whether or not the governor should take over control of the state militia. Finally, the legislature has the power to terminate any member of the judiciary as long as they can raise the necessary vote (Laska 2011) .
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights segment of the Tennessee constitution is among the most comprehensive in the world. The 1870 constitution was enacted to deal with the issue of slavery and it did so in a definitive manner. It made slavery illegal and also made illegitimate the entire concept of slavery and indentured servitude (Laska 2011) . To enable anyone free passage in and out of Tennessee, which was among the contentious issues of slavery, the Bill of Rights made the right to travel up the Mississippi River an unalienable right that can neither be sold nor denied. Other fundamental rights include the right to fair trial and speedy conclusion of criminal cases alongside the right for habeas corpus. Universal suffrage is guaranteed so is the right not to take any other test oath than to the state of federal government (Laska 2011) . For the payment of a preset fee, no citizen of Tennessee can be forced into military service. Freedom of assembly, religion, and a free press are also guaranteed.
Conclusion
It is clear from the foregoing that one of the reasons why the Tennessee constitution has had so few amendments is that it was a great document from the world go. The fundamental freedoms that were guaranteed in the original document are developed enough even for the modern age. Several elements have been adjusted to keep up with the modern times but the spirit of the original constitution still abounds. Among the key features of this constitution is a bias to retain more power among the many as opposed to the few. The general assembly is the largest organ in government and draws its powers directly from the people through direct elections. It is upon this body that the constitution gives most of the power. To provide a balance, some of the power is given to the executive but under direct superintendence of the general assembly. To check the excesses of the legislature, however, its power on the judiciary is made less direct making for a good separation of powers.
References
Laska, L. L. (2011). The Tennessee state constitution . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Neal III, W. H., & Casteel, J. B. (2015). Amendment II: A consideration of the history, passage & potential effects of the latest judicial selection process in Tennessee. In The Forum: A Tennessee Student Legal Journal 2(1), 1-10
