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Confederate States of America

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For other meanings of confederate and confederacy, see confederacy (disambiguation)
Confederate States of America
A flag of the Confederate States of America Confederate States of America Seal
(Confederate Flag) (Confederate Seal)
National Motto
Deo Vindice
(Latin: Under God our Vindicator)
File:CSAlocation2.png
Official language
English de facto nationwide

Various European and Native American languages regionally

Capital Montgomery, Alabama
February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861
Richmond, Virginia
May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865
Largest city New Orleans
February 4, 1861–May 1, 1862
President Jefferson Davis
Area
 - Total
 - % water		 (excl. MO & KY)
1,995,392 km²
5.7%
Population
 - 1860 Census

 - Density		 (excl. MO & KY)
9,103,332
(including 3,521,110 slaves)
4.5/km²
Independence
 - Declared
 - Recognized
 
 - Surrendered 		see Civil War
February 4, 1861
only by the Duchy of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
April 9, 1865
Currency US dollar ($),
Confederate dollar
National anthem God Save the South (Unofficial)

The Confederate States of America (CSA, also known as the Confederacy) was the confederation formed by the southern slave states that seceded from the United States and existed from 1861 to 1865. The seceding states seized control of federal forts and custom houses within their boundaries, triggering the American Civil War. Eventually a total of 11 states became part of the Confederacy, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Missouri and Kentucky never officially seceded, but factions from those states applied for acceptance into the confederacy, and those states are represented as stars on the Confederate battle flag. The five tribal governments of the Indian Territory, which became Oklahoma in 1907, also mainly supported the Confederacy. Some residents in New Mexico and Arizona territories at Mesilla and Tucson also petitioned the Confederate government for annexation of their lands, prompting an expedition in which territory south of the 34th parallel was claimed by the Confederacy. Also note that West Virginia seceded from Virginia and rejoined the Union or United States as a free state in 1863. Martial law was declared in 1861 in Maryland (the state which surrounds Washington, D.C.) to block attempts at secession there. Delaware, also a slave state, never considered secession.

The Confederacy was formed on February 4, 1861, and Jefferson Davis was selected as its first President of the Confederate States the next day.

For most of its duration, the Confederacy was engaged in the American Civil War against the remainder of the Union.

Structure and government

Its constitution was based to a certain extent on both the Articles of Confederation and on the United States Constitution, but it reflected a stronger philosophy of states' rights, and also contained explicit protection of the institution of slavery, though international slave trade was prohibited. It differed from the US Constitution in that the federal government was prohibited from issuing protective tariffs or funding internal improvements, and this would have made southern ports more attractive to international traders. At the same time, however, much of the Confederate constitution was a word-for-word duplicate of the US one. 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 believed this to be a right inherent in the U.S. Constitution, and thus including it as such would have weakened their original argument for secession.

Unlike the U.S. president, 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 Union forces before he could finish out 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. Printing currency in 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. 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.

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 enshrined in the constitution, it also prohibited the importation of new slaves from outside the Confederacy.

Although negotiations took place between the Confederacy and several European powers (including France and the UK), it was never granted formal recognition by any foreign state. Following Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the UK and France broke off negotiations.

The capital of the Confederacy was Montgomery, Alabama, from February 4, 1861, until May 29, 1861, when it was moved to Richmond, Virginia. (Richmond was 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. From April 3 to April 10 of 1865, Danville, Virginia served as the last capital of the Confederacy.

The Confederate Flag

See full article

The official flag of the Confederacy, and the one actually called the "Stars and Bars", 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. Therefore, the "Southern Cross" is the flag most people associate with the Confederacy today. (In the past, it was also called the "Palmetto Flag". It is often called the "Stars and Bars" too, but this name is incorrect.) The Stars and Bars had seven stars, for the seven states that had seceded from the Union by the time it was adopted; the Southern Cross had thirteen stars, for the eleven states that did secede and for the two states with competing unionist and secessionist governments that were admitted to the Confederacy, so they had representatives in both governments: Kentucky and Missouri (See Missouri Secession).

Significant dates

State Seceded Admitted C.S. Readmitted U.S. Local rule reestablished
South Carolina December 20, 1860 February 4, 1861 July 9, 1868 November 28, 1876
Mississippi January 9, 1861 February 4, 1861 February 23, 1870 January 4, 1876
Florida January 10, 1861 February 4, 1861 June 25, 1868 January 2, 1877
Alabama January 11, 1861 February 4, 1861 July 14, 1868 November 16, 1874
Georgia January 19, 1861 February 4, 1861 July 15, 1870 November 1, 1871
Louisiana January 26, 1861 February 4, 1861 June 25, 1868
or July 9, 1868 		January 2, 1877
Texas February 1, 1861 March 2, 1861 March 30, 1870 January 14, 1873
Virginia April 17, 1861 May 7, 1861 January 26, 1870 October 5, 1869
Arkansas May 6, 1861 May 18, 1861 June 22, 1868 November 10, 1874
Tennessee May 6, 1861 May 16, 1861 July 24, 1866 October 4, 1869
North Carolina May 21, 1861 May 16, 1861 July 4, 1868 February 2, 1871


Political leaders of the Confederacy

Military leaders of the Confederacy

See also

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