Confederate states of america is the author of constitution of the confederate states of america 3. Constitution of the confederate states of america transcription. Avalker, smith, curry, hale, mepiae, shorter and fearn, of alabama. Here is a look at this littleknown third constitution that controlled the lives of about 9 million people for a short period of time. Original constitution of the confederate states of america. Avalon project constitution of the confederate states. 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 tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity invoking the favor and guidance of almighty god. For studies of the confederate states of america, this is a good read. The constitution of the confederate states of america was written when southern states seceded from the union. Constitution, it differs from it in a number of ways. On march 11, 1861, delegates from the newly formed confederate states of america agreed on their own constitution.
The historic american civil war was fought between the confederacy and the union. Provisional constitution of the confederate states wikipedia. Constitution of the confederate states of america uga libraries. Hear and read the text of the preamble to the constitution of the confederate states of america. On this day, the confederate constitution is approved. On march 11, 1861, the confederate states of america adopted the confederate states constitution. The writers of this document, of course, had the u. The confederacys approach to the bill of rights, and specifically the first amendment, is noteworthy. President of the confederate states of america wikipedia. Full text of constitution of the confederate states of america. Constitution of the confederate states of america the u. The provisional constitution of the confederate states of america signed on february 8, 1861, created a compact among six deep south states. Read the constitution continued the senate section 3.
The supreme court of the confederate states of america. The document consists of five vellum sheets pasted together and rolled, signed by howell cobb, president of the congress and delegates from alabama, florida, georgia, louisiana, mississippi. The text in bold can be used to compare this preamble with. The slave states of delaware, maryland, virginia, kentucky, and missouri that were adjacent to the free states of the north during the civil war confederate states of america list 11 southern states alabama, arkansas, florida, georgia, north carolina, south carolina, texas, virginia, tennessee, louisiana, and mississippi that seceded from the. 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 tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity invoking the favor and guidance of almighty god do ordain and establish this constitution for the confederate states. There are similarities and differences between the u. The government established by this constitution is the successor of the provisional government of the confederate states of america, and all the laws passed by the latter shall continue in force until the same shall be repealed or modified. The confederacy also operated under a provisional constitution from february 8, 1861, to february 22, 1862. Which statement about the constitutions of the confederate. Confederate states of america constitution for the. Constitution of the confederate states of america 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 posterityinvoking the favor and guidance of almighty goddo ordain and establish this. Constitution of the provisional government of the confederate states of america. Constitution of the confederate states of america the first.
We, the deputies of the sovereign and independent states of south carolina, georgia, florida, alabama, mississippi, and louisiana, invoking the favor of almighty god, do hereby, in behalf of these states, ordain and establish this constitution for the provisional government of the same. We, the people of the united states, in order to form a more per. Preamble constitution of the confederate states of america. The confederacys approach to the bill of rights, and. The confederacy or the confederate states of america incorporated 11 states in the southern region that disaffiliated themselves from the union. The president also headed the executive branch of government and was commanderinchief of the army and navy, and of the militia of the several states when called into confederate service. The first few states to join hands in the formation of the confederacy were south carolina, georgia, florida, mississippi, alabama, louisiana, and texas. Some of the larger disparities deal with states rights and slavery.
Constitution of the confederacy american civil war. The text in bold can be used to compare this preamble with the preamble of the u. We the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america. Which statement about the constitutions of the confederate states of america and the united states is not tru get the answers you need, now. Confederate states, shall be allowed to vote for any officer, civil or polit ical, state or federal. Also available in digital form on the library of congress web site. Constitution of the confederate states of america, 1861 idca. Sep 27, 2012 hear and read the text of the preamble to the constitution of the confederate states of america. Pdf the constitution of the confederate states of america, 1861. This document followed the same format as the united states constitution and in many cases quoted it verbatim. This presentation will describe the similarities and differences between the united states of america and the confederate states of america. The constitution of the confederate states of america.
Mud the constitution was unanimously adopted, as fol lows. Constitution of the confederate states of america preamble 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 tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity invoking the favor and guidance of almighty god do ordain. Confederate states of america constitution for the provisional government 1861 we, the deputies of the sovereign and independent states of south carolina, georgia, florida, alabama, mississippi, and louisiana, invoking the favor of almighty god, do hereby, in behalf of. Read first, second, and third times and engrossed, and unanimously adopted. The president of the confederate states was the elected head of state and government of the confederate states. The csa, prior to the constitution s passage, operated under a provisional constitution from february 8, 1861 to march 11, 1861. Confederate states of america author of constitution of the. United states of americas constitution of 1789 with amendments through 1992. Aug 06, 2015 if the day ever came when slavery was eliminated voluntarily throughout the united states of america, not one word of the united states constitution would need to be changed, whereas slavery could never lawfully be abolished under the confederate states constitution. Slavery in the confederate constitution abbeville institute.
Apr 04, 2019 we, the deputies of the sovereign and independent states of south carolina, georgia, florida, alabama, mississippi, and louisiana, invoking the favor of almighty god, do hereby, in behalf of these states, ordain and establish this constitution for the provisional government of the same. The complete constitution of the confederate states of america and the confederate states of america declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify the secession of south carolina from the federal union. Constitution of the confederate states of america the. The constitution for the confederate states of america. Constitution, with notable exceptions, some of which are excerpted here. Constitution of the provisional government of the confederate. The president also headed the executive branch of government and was commanderinchief of the army and navy, and of the militia of the several states when called into.
If the day ever came when slavery was eliminated voluntarily throughout the united states of america, not one word of the united states constitution would need to be changed, whereas slavery could never lawfully be abolished under the confederate states constitution. The permanent confederate constitution, signed on march 11, 1861, created a political structure for what became the elevenstate confederate nation. Constitution and the constitution of the confederate states of america. The sections where the cs constitution differs from that of the us will be indicated in the following manner. Be it ordained by the congress of the confederate states of america, that the second paragraph of the first section of the third article of the constitution of the confederate states of america be so amended in the first line of said paragraph as to read, each state shall, until otherwise enacted by law, constitute a district.
The confederate states constitution, formally the constitution of the confederate states of america, was the supreme law of the confederate states, as adopted on march 11, 1861, and in effect from february 22, 1862, through the conclusion of the american civil war. Compare and contrast the constitution of the united states. The confederate states of americas supreme law was the constitution of the confederate states of america csa adopted on march 11, 1861, and in effect through the conclusion of the american civil war. The confederacy acted as a separate government until defeated in the spring of 1865. Constitution as a guide and most of them had been heavily involved in the government before the separation of the states. Aug 23, 2010 for studies of the confederate states of america, this is a good read. 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 posterityinvoking the favor and guidance of almighty goddo ordain and establish this constitution for the confederate states of america. What the confederate states constitution says about slavery. The text of the csa constitution was verified at the university of oklahoma and the library of congress and was marked up for web display by steve mount. Confederate states of america, the government of 11 southern states that seceded from the union in 186061, following the election of abraham lincoln as u. Which statement about the constitutions of the confederate states of america and the united states is not true. In framing the constitution of the confederate states, the authors adopted, with numerous elisions and additions, the language of the constitution of the united states, and followed the same order of arrangement of articles and sections. Confederate states of america collection selected special. Confederate constitution includes reference to god.
Although the constitution of the confederate states of america 1861 largely follows the outline of the u. Jan 06, 20 the confederate states of america s supreme law was the constitution of the confederate states of america csa adopted on march 11, 1861, and in effect through the conclusion of the american civil war. The constitution of the confederate states was adopted in 1861 and was the law of the confederacy from 1862 until the end of the civil war in 1865. No person shall be a represen tative, who shall not have attained the age of twentyfive years, and be a citizen of the confederate states, united states of america. The constitution of the united states preamble we the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do. The following is the complete text of the constitution of the confederate states of america, as adopted on march 11, 1861. Oct 10, 2011 no person except a naturalborn citizen of the confederate states or a citizen thereof at the time of the adoption of this constitution, or a citizen thereof born in the united states prior to the. No person except a naturalborn citizen of the confederate states or a citizen thereof at the time of the adoption of this constitution, or a citizen thereof born in the united states prior to the. The provisional constitution was nullified with the ratification of the permanent constitution of the confederate states of america on march 11, 1861. The university of georgia has the original handwritten copies in its archives. United states of americas constitution of 1789 with. One similarity is that there were three branches of government in. The csa, prior to the constitutions passage, operated under a provisional constitution from february 8, 1861 to march 11, 1861. The framers of the provisional constitution used the constitution of the united states as a basis for their own, and thus there are many similarities.
Noperson shall be a representative whoshall not have attained the age oftwentjfive years, and be a citizen of the confederate states, andwho shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant ofthatstate in. 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 posterityinvoking the favor and guidance of almighty goddo ordain and. Constitution of the confederate states of america by confederate states of america. One of 100 copies ordered to be printed of the final draft of the confederate constitution, this copy was printed for the use of the committee on. The collection consists of the original signed manuscript of the permanent constitution of the confederate states of america, adopted on march 11, 1861.
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