Simone Lawson
The Constitution of the Confederate States was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution in 1862 and remained in effect until 1865. The Confederate Constitution was similar to the U.S. Constitution, but there were crucial differences in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery. The Confederate Constitution permitted the Confederate States to import slaves from the United States and specified the African race as the subject. It also allowed the House of Representatives and the Senate to grant seats to the heads of each executive department to discuss issues with Congress. It provided the President with a line-item veto and required any bill with this veto to be resubmitted to both houses for a possible override vote. The Confederate Constitution also included a Bill of Rights, with one right stating that the government couldn't impair the right of property in negro slaves.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Judicial Power | Vested in one Supreme Court and inferior courts |
| Judicial Power Extension | All cases arising under the Constitution, laws of the Confederate States, and treaties made |
| Legislative Powers | Vested in a Congress of the Confederate States, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives |
| Presidential Term | Limited to one six-year term |
| Vice President Term | No term limits |
| President's Veto | Line-item veto in budget matters |
| House of Representatives and Senate | Able to grant seats to the heads of each executive department to discuss issues with Congress |
| New State Joining the Confederacy | Required a two-thirds vote from both houses of Congress |
| Slavery | Banned the importation of slaves from foreign nations except from the United States |
| Allowed enslavers to travel between Confederate states with their slaves | |
| Recognized enslaved people as three-fifths of a state's population | |
| Required any new territory acquired to allow slavery | |
| Prohibited laws denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves |
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What You'll Learn
- The Confederate Constitution permitted the Confederate States to import slaves from the United States
- The Confederate version used the word 'slaves', unlike the U.S. Constitution
- Confederate states could impeach federal officials, collect taxes, and make treaties
- The Confederate president had the power of a line-item veto
- The Confederate Constitution ensured slave owners' property rights
The Confederate Constitution permitted the Confederate States to import slaves from the United States
The Confederate Constitution, written in March 1861, superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862 and remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The Confederate Constitution was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It was based on the United States Constitution, with most of its provisions being word-for-word duplicates, but there were crucial differences in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery.
> "The importation of Negroes of the African race from any foreign country other than the slaveholding States or Territories of the United States of America, is hereby forbidden; and Congress is required to pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same."
The Confederate Constitution also included a clause about the question of slavery in the territories, stating that slavery would be legally protected in any new territory acquired by the Confederate States. This clause was added to address the key constitutional debate of the 1860 election.
The Confederate Constitution gave greater powers to the states in certain areas, including the protection of the existing internal trade of slaves among slaveholding states. The authors of the Confederate Constitution aimed to give a different feel to the new preamble, which reflected the motivation behind the formation of the Confederacy: the preservation and expansion of slavery.
The Confederate Constitution also amended Article I, Section 6(2) to allow the House of Representatives and the Senate to grant seats to the heads of each executive department to discuss issues with Congress. It also amended Article I, Section 7(2) to provide the President of the Confederate States with a line-item veto, requiring any bill with this veto to be resubmitted to both houses for a possible override vote by two-thirds of both houses.
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The Confederate version used the word 'slaves', unlike the U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the Confederate States was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution in 1862 and remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The Confederate Constitution followed the U.S. Constitution, with most of its provisions being word-for-word duplicates. However, there were significant differences in tone and legal content, especially regarding slavery.
The Confederate Constitution explicitly used the word "slaves", unlike the U.S. Constitution, which only obliquely referred to slavery due to the Framers' embarrassment and hopes that it would eventually be extinguished. One article of the Confederate Constitution banned any Confederate state from making slavery illegal, and another ensured that slaveowners could travel between Confederate states with their slaves. The Confederate Constitution also accounted for enslaved people as three-fifths of a state's population, and it required that any new territory acquired by the nation allow slavery.
The Confederate Constitution's preamble began with "We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character," reflecting the document's focus on states' rights and limited federal power. It included a Bill of Rights, with one right stating that the government couldn't impair "the right of property in negro slaves." This was in contrast to the U.S. Constitution's "We the People of the United States," which emphasised forming a more perfect union and securing liberty for "ourselves and our posterity."
The Confederate Constitution also differed from the U.S. Constitution in other ways. It allowed the House of Representatives and the Senate to grant seats to the heads of executive departments to discuss issues with Congress. It provided the President with a line-item veto, but also required any vetoed bill to be resubmitted to both houses for a possible override vote. It added instructions for electing permanent officials after ratification and specified that the President could only serve one six-year term.
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Confederate states could impeach federal officials, collect taxes, and make treaties
The Confederate Constitution was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862 and remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865.
The Confederate Constitution was similar to the US Constitution in many ways, but there were crucial differences in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery and states' rights. One of the most notable differences was the Confederate Constitution's explicit protection of the institution of slavery. While both constitutions banned the importation of slaves from foreign nations, the Confederate Constitution permitted the Confederate States to import slaves from the United States. It also ensured that slaveowners could travel between Confederate states with their slaves and required that any new territory acquired by the nation allow slavery.
The Confederate Constitution also gave Confederate states the power to impeach federal officials, collect taxes, and make treaties with each other. It limited the president to one six-year term and gave the president the power of the line-item veto in budget matters. The vice president did not have term limits.
The Confederate Constitution also established a judicial system, with a Supreme Court and inferior courts, and outlined the powers of the Confederate Congress, which consisted of a Senate and House of Representatives.
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The Confederate president had the power of a line-item veto
The Constitution of the Confederate States was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862 and remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The Confederate Constitution's preamble includes references to God, a perpetual government, and the sovereignty and independence of each state.
Most of its provisions are word-for-word duplicates from the United States Constitution, but there are key differences in tone and legal content, particularly regarding slavery. For example, the Confederate Constitution permitted the Confederate States to import slaves from the United States, which had been illegal since 1808.
Article 1, Section 7 of the Confederate Constitution, adopted just before the American Civil War, granted the Confederate President the power of a line-item veto. This allowed the president to "approve any appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same bill," with such disapprovals returned to the Houses of Congress for reconsideration and potential override. This power has been sought by several US presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, who was granted this power in 1996. However, it was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
A line-item veto, or partial veto, allows an executive authority to nullify or cancel specific provisions of a bill, typically a budget appropriations bill, without vetoing the entire package. Forty-four US states give their governors some form of line-item veto power. While some scholars argue that this power gives presidents too much control over government spending compared to Congress, others believe it would be beneficial for the functioning of the federal government.
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The Confederate Constitution ensured slave owners' property rights
The Confederate Constitution, established on March 11, 1861, was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States, the Confederate States' first constitution, in 1862. The Confederate Constitution ensured that slave owners' property rights were not impaired.
The Confederate Constitution's preamble included the phrase "each State acting in its sovereign and independent character," which focused the new constitution on the rights of the individual states. The document was drawn up and approved just a week after Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States. There were seven southern states that had seceded at the time, and a total of 11 would eventually secede and join the Confederacy officially.
The Confederate Constitution ensured that slave owners' property rights were protected. It stated that citizens of each state were entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states, including the right to transit and sojourn in any state of the Confederacy with their slaves and other property, and that the right of property in said slaves should not be impaired. It also explicitly mentioned slavery in the territories, a key constitutional debate of the 1860 election, by stating that the institution of negro slavery would be recognized and protected in all territory belonging to the Confederate States. Additionally, it specified that the importation of negroes of the African race from any foreign country other than the slaveholding States or Territories of the United States was forbidden, and that Congress was required to pass laws to prevent this.
The Confederate Constitution also included a Bill of Rights, which incorporated most of the rights in the U.S. Constitution's original Bill of Rights. One additional right stated that the government could not impair "the right of property in negro slaves" of owners.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constitution of the Confederate States was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862 and remained in effect until 1865.
The Confederate Constitution was forbidden from interfering with the importation of slaves from the United States. It also could not interfere with the right to property in negro slaves.
The Confederate Constitution mirrored the US Constitution in many ways, but there were crucial differences in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery. The Confederate Constitution used the word "slaves", while the US Constitution did not. It also ensured that slave owners could travel between Confederate states with their slaves and that any new territory acquired must allow slavery.
The Confederate Constitution limited the president to one six-year term and gave the president the power of a line-item veto in budget matters. It also allowed the House of Representatives and the Senate to grant seats to the heads of each executive department.
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