Isabella Carter
On March 11, 1861, delegates from the newly formed Confederate States of America adopted their own constitution in Montgomery, Alabama. The Confederate Constitution was approved just a week after Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States. The document was signed by delegates from seven southern states that had seceded at the time, with a total of 11 eventually seceding and joining the Confederacy officially.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | March 11, 1861 |
| Location | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Delegates | South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas |
| Number of States Seceded | 7 at the time, 11 in total |
| Population | 9 million people, including 3 million slaves |
| Population Outside Confederate States | 22 million |
| Comparison to US Constitution | Similarities in language and structure, but differences in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery |
| Term Limits | President: one non-renewable six-year term; Vice President: none |
| Amendments | IX and X added as Article VI; Amendment I added as Article VII |
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What You'll Learn
The Confederate Constitution was signed in Montgomery, Alabama
The Confederate Constitution was modelled after the U.S. Constitution, with some crucial differences in tone and legal content, particularly regarding slavery and states' rights. The Confederate Constitution included a Bill of Rights and provided for a permanent federal government, with a single six-year term for the president and a line-item veto. It also explicitly supported slavery, banning any Confederate state from making slavery illegal and allowing slaveowners to travel between Confederate states with their slaves.
The Confederate Constitution was proposed and approved just a week after Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States on March 4, 1861. At the time, seven southern states had seceded, and a total of eleven would eventually secede and join the Confederacy. The Confederate Constitution controlled the lives of about 9 million people, including 3 million slaves, living in the states and territories that left the Union.
The Confederate Constitution was short-lived, remaining in effect only until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. However, it represented a significant departure from the U.S. Constitution and reflected the Confederate States' commitment to maintaining slavery and asserting states' rights.
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It was signed on March 11, 1861
On March 11, 1861, the Constitution of the Confederate States of America was adopted. The Confederate Constitution was signed in Montgomery, Alabama, by delegates from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. This group of delegates from the newly formed Confederate States of America agreed upon their own constitution, which was approved just a week after Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States.
The Confederate Constitution superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862. It remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The Confederate Constitution was the supreme law of the land, and all the laws passed by the Provisional Government remained in force until they were repealed or modified. The Confederate Constitution addressed the issue of slavery throughout, with language such as: "No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves, shall be passed."
The Confederate Constitution also included a non-renewable six-year term for the president and a line-item veto. It gave the Confederate states the ability to impeach federal officials, collect taxes, and make treaties with each other. The Confederate Constitution was similar to the U.S. Constitution in many ways, but there were crucial differences in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery and states' rights. The Confederate version, for example, used the word "slaves," unlike the U.S. Constitution. One article banned any Confederate state from making slavery illegal, and another ensured that enslavers could travel between Confederate states with their slaves.
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The Confederate Constitution was written by the Committee of Twelve
The Confederate Constitution was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States, the Confederate State's first constitution, in 1862. It remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The original Provisional Constitution is located at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia, and the final, handwritten Constitution is located in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia.
The Confederate Constitution was modelled after the US Constitution, with several notable differences. The Confederate Constitution included the same rights as in the First Amendment, applying it to the Confederacy, not the states. It also included the 9th and 10th Amendments as its Article 6, which covers miscellaneous matters. The Confederate Constitution also explicitly supported slavery and reasserted the principle of state rights. It included provisions that allowed Confederate states to impeach federal officials, collect more taxes, and make treaties with each other under certain circumstances. The Confederate Constitution limited the president to one six-year term in office and gave him the power of the line-item veto in budget matters.
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It was signed by delegates from seven Southern states
On March 11, 1861, the Constitution of the Confederate States of America was adopted. The Confederate Constitution was approved by delegates from seven Southern states—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These states had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederate Constitution was modelled after the United States Constitution, with some crucial differences, particularly regarding slavery and states' rights.
The Confederate Constitution was drafted by a Committee of Twelve and debated and proposed at a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1861. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States, which had been written earlier that year on February 4, 1861, by a Congress of Delegates from the seceding Southern States. The final, handwritten Constitution is located in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia.
The Confederate Constitution included a preamble that began with "We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character..." This preamble set a different tone from that of the U.S. Constitution, emphasising the sovereignty and independence of each state within the Confederacy. The Confederate Constitution also included a Bill of Rights, with most of the rights from the U.S. Constitution's original Bill of Rights incorporated.
One of the most significant differences between the Confederate Constitution and the U.S. Constitution was its explicit support for slavery. The Confederate Constitution included language that protected the "right of property in negro slaves" and prohibited any Confederate state from making slavery illegal. It also allowed slaveowners to travel between Confederate states with their slaves and required that enslaved people be counted as three-fifths of a state's population. Additionally, the Confederate Constitution gave states the power to impeach federal officials, collect taxes, make treaties, and create lines of credit.
The Confederate Constitution also included some structural differences from the U.S. Constitution. It limited the president to one six-year term and gave the vice president no term limits. It provided the president with a line-item veto in budget matters and allowed for amendments to be proposed with a lower threshold of states requesting a constitutional convention. The Confederate Constitution also made it easier to amend individual rights compared to the process outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
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The Confederate Constitution mirrored the US Constitution
On March 11, 1861, delegates from the newly formed Confederate States of America agreed on their own constitution. The Confederate Constitution was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America, superseding the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862. It remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865.
The Confederate Constitution also included a Bill of Rights, which incorporated most of the rights in the original US Bill of Rights. Additionally, the Confederate Congress operated in a similar fashion to the United States Congress. The Confederate Congress met for six sessions during the war, and its members could answer questions on the floor of Congress. The Supreme Court system of the Confederacy was also very similar to that of the United States, and Confederate state courts often used US Supreme Court precedents in their decisions.
There were, however, some crucial differences between the two constitutions, primarily regarding slavery. The Confederate Constitution used the word "slaves" and included passages related to slavery that differed significantly from the US Constitution. For example, one article banned any Confederate state from making slavery illegal, and another ensured that enslavers could travel between Confederate states with their slaves. The Confederate Constitution also required that any new territory acquired by the nation allow slavery.
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Frequently asked questions
The Confederate Constitution was signed in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Confederate Constitution was signed on March 11, 1861.
The Confederate Constitution was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States in 1862.
The Confederate Constitution explicitly addresses the issue of slavery throughout. It also accounts for enslaved people as three-fifths of a state's population and requires that any new territory acquired by the nation allow slavery.
The preamble of the Confederate Constitution begins, "We, the people of the Confederate States, each state acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a permanent federal government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."
