Confederate States of America

:For other meanings of confederate and confederacy, see confederacy (disambiguation)

Government and politics

Constitution

The Confederate States Constitution provides much insight into the motivations for secession from the Union. Based to a certain extent on both the Articles of Confederation and on the United States Constitution, it reflected a stronger philosophy of states' rights, curtailing the power of the central authority, and also contained explicit protection of the institution of slavery, though international slave trading was prohibited. It differed from the US Constitution chiefly by addressing the grievances of the secessionist states against the federal government of the United States. For example, the Confederate government was prohibited from instituting protective tariffs, making southern ports more attractive to international traders. Prior to the declarations of secession, most southerners regarded protective tariffs as a measure that enriched the northern states at the expense of the south. The Confederate government was also prohibited from using revenues collected in one state for funding internal improvements in another state. At the same time, however, much of the Confederate constitution was a word-for-word duplicate of the US one.

Related Topics:
Confederate States Constitution - Articles of Confederation - United States Constitution - States' rights - Slavery - Protective tariff - Internal improvement

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the drafting of the Constitution of the Confederacy, a few radical proposals such as allowing only slave states to join and the reinstatement of the Atlantic slave trade were turned down. The Constitution specifically did not include a provision allowing states to secede, since the southerners considered this to be a right intrinsic to a sovereign state which the United States Constitution had not required them to renounce, and thus including it as such would have weakened their original argument for secession.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The President of the Confederacy was to be elected to a six-year term and could not be reelected. The only president was Jefferson Davis; the Confederacy was defeated by the federal government before he completed his term. One unique power granted to the Confederate president was the ability to subject a bill to a line item veto, a power held by some state governors. The Confederate Congress could overturn either the general or the line item vetoes with the same two thirds majorities that are required in the US Congress.

Related Topics:
Jefferson Davis - Line item veto - Confederate Congress - US Congress

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Printed currency in the forms of bills and stamps was authorized and put into circulation, although by the individual states in the Confederacy's name. The government considered issuing Confederate coinage. Plans, dies and 4 "proofs" were created, but a lack of bullion prevented any public coinage.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although the preamble refers to "each State acting in its sovereign and independent character", it also refers to the formation of a "permanent federal government". Also, although slavery was protected in the constitution, it also prohibited the importation of new slaves from outside the Confederacy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Capital

The capital of the Confederacy was Montgomery, Alabama, from February 4, 1861, until May 29, 1861, when it was moved to Richmond, Virginia (named the new capital on May 6, 1861). Shortly before the end of the war, the Confederate government evacuated Richmond with plans to relocate further south to Atlanta, Georgia, or to Columbia, South Carolina, but little came of this before Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House and Danville, Virginia, served from April 3 to April 10, 1865, as the last capital of the Confederacy.

Related Topics:
Montgomery, Alabama - February 4 - 1861 - May 29 - Richmond, Virginia - May 6 - Atlanta, Georgia - Columbia, South Carolina - Appomattox Court House - Danville, Virginia - April 3 - April 10 - 1865

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

International Diplomacy and Legal Status

The legal status of the Confederate Government was a subject of extensive debate throughout its existence and for many years after the war. During its existence, the Confederate government conducted negotiations with several European powers (including France and the United Kingdom). The Confederacy received formal diplomatic recognition only from Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the ruler of a minor German principality. The UK came close to recognizing the Confederacy during the Trent Affair and began preparations to offer mediation along with France (due to Emperor Napoleon III's project, the Mexican Empire), but both nations backed away after the Battle of Antietam and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Throughout the war most European powers adopted a policy of neutrality, meeting informally with Confederate diplomats but withholding diplomatic recognition. In its place, they applied international law principles that recognized the Northern and Southern sides of the war as belligerents. Canada allowed both Confederate and Union agents to work openly within its borders and some state governments in northern Mexico negotiated regional agreements to cover trade on the Texas border.

Related Topics:
European - France - United Kingdom - Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - Trent Affair - Emperor Napoleon III - Mexican Empire - Battle of Antietam - Emancipation Proclamation - Belligerent - Canada - Mexico

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the four years of its existence, the Confederacy asserted its independence and appointed dozens of diplomatic agents abroad. The Northern government, by contrast, asserted that the southern states were provinces in rebellion and refused any formal recognition of their status. Telling of this dispute, the Confederate Government responded to the hostilities by formally declaring war on the United States while the Union Government conducted its war efforts under a proclamation of blockade and rebellion by President Lincoln. Mid-war negotiations between the two sides occurred without formal political recognition, though the laws of war governed military relationships.

Related Topics:
Blockade - Laws of war

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Four years after the war the United States Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that secession was unconstitutional and legally null. The court's opinion was rendered by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, the former Treasury Secretary under Lincoln. Chase's opinion was immediately attacked and remains controversial to this day. Critics such as Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens penned subsequent legal arguments in favor of secession's legality, most notably Davis' Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.

Related Topics:
United States Supreme Court - Texas v. White - Salmon P. Chase - Treasury Secretary

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Confederate flags

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Image:Starsnbars.png|1st National"Stars and Bars"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Image:Stainlessbanner.png|2nd National"Stainless Banner"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Image:navaljack.png|Naval Jack

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Image:battleflag.png|Battle Flag"Southern Cross"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The official flag of the Confederacy, and the one actually called the "Stars and Bars", has seven stars, for the seven states that initially formed the Confederacy. This flag was sometimes hard to distinguish from the Union flag under battle conditions, so the Confederate battle flag, the "Southern Cross", became the one more commonly used in military operations. The Southern Cross has 13 stars, adding the four states that joined the Confederacy after Fort Sumter, and the two states of Kentucky and Missouri (See Missouri Secession) with competing unionist and secessionist governments that were admitted to the Confederacy. As a result of its depiction in 20th century popular media, the "Southern Cross" is a flag commonly associated with the Confederacy today. The actual "Southern Cross" is a square shaped flag, but the more commonly seen rectangular flag is actually the flag of the First Tennessee Army, also known as the Naval Jack because it was first used by the Confederate Navy.

Related Topics:
Union flag - Kentucky - Missouri - Missouri Secession - 20th century

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Political leaders of the Confederacy

• Jefferson Davis (Mississippi) - President of the Confederate States
• Alexander Stephens (Georgia) - Vice-President
• Robert Toombs (Georgia) - (1st) Secretary of State
• Leroy Pope Walker (Alabama) - Secretary of War
• George W. Randolph (Virginia) - Brig. General, then Secretary of War (March - November 1862)
• John C. Breckinridge (Kentucky) - Secretary of War, and former V.P. of the U.S. under James Buchanan
• Judah P. Benjamin (Louisiana) - Attorney General, then Secretary of War, then Secretary of State
• Stephen R. Mallory (Florida) - Secretary of the Navy
• Christopher G. Memminger (South Carolina) - Secretary of the Treasury
• John H. Reagan (Texas) - Postmaster General
• John Tyler- Confederate Congressman-elect, and former U.S. President
• Howell Cobb (Georgia) - President of Congress, and former U.S. Speaker of the House
• William L. Yancey (Alabama) - Senator & Commissioner
• Robert Woodward Barnwell - Chairman of Congress (1861)